Withdrawn a year ago, prime Kerry farm finally sells for respectable €1m

SELLING what’s described as one of the best farms in Kerry took longer than expected, but auctioneer Tom Spillane has finally got an 80-acre farm, at Ballyfinnane, Castlemaine, over the line.

The property went to auction a year ago, with a reserve of €1.24m and failed to sell. This time round, the private treaty sale has netted a cool €1m, not bad in the current climate, and the equivalent of €13,000 per acre.

The non-residential holding was originally sold just as bank funding tightened, and the sale agreed at that time fell through.

However, there were other buyers in the offing for the level, single block of land, particularly a south Kerry farmer, who eventually purchased the property.

The deal is a benchmark for farm sales, so far, in the Kingdom this year, and it may augur well for land at Beaufort, Killarney, guide priced at €18,000 per acre.