One bidder and one sale

ONE hundred and twenty people in the hall – and only one bidder.

That was the situation at the auction of a Ballineen farm at Connagh, one of the few open sales this year. Tom Brady expected a good response, which he got, but was disappointed at the slow bidding – despite achieving a sale on the day. It’s symptomatic of the times, he says, and shows just how lacklustre the market is.

The executors’ sale realised a bid of €380,000 for 48 acres, at which stage it was withdrawn, and subsequent negotiations brought that up to €400,000, at which the farm was knocked down to a solicitor acting in trust.

The identity of the purchaser is unknown, though it’s likely to be a local:

“It’s like the lotto – everyone thinks I know who bought it, but I haven’t a clue – but I’d assume it’s a local farmer,” says Tom Brady. He says the auction of the Connagh farm gives a good indication of the state of the market – and in his words, it’s static.

This land is only two to three miles from one at Ardkitt, Ballineen which made €32,000 per acre at the height of the boom. That was due to a combination of fluid money and a scarcity of land for sale in the area, says Brady.

While the big money is gone, the demand for land remains. However, funding is the problem, with many of the larger farmers stymied by poorly performing investments made during the boom and a cap on per acre prices by banks.