Busy times for north Cork sales
The land — described as top quality — didn’t have any local bidders on the day, says agent, Michael Barry, which he says explained the lacklustre response at the time.
However, there were two non-local bidders, and while the property was withdrawn on the day, it has now been sold to the highest bidder, accountant Charles Crowley of Bandon, for an undisclosed sum.
The price paid is believed to have been over €9,000 per acre but under €10,000 per acre — a satisfactory conclusion in the end.
And Michael Barry says that at the million euro mark for a farm it’s a restricted market; no matter how good a farm is, or how strong an operator is, banks are still very reluctant to hand out large sums of money. And a high degree of self-funding is required at the same time.
In this case the market locally was not as it might be and outside farmers took the land instead, but at a price perhaps, that reflects the distance involved. Bound on one side by a road and on the other by a river, the property is laid out in four good fields and has been used for a mix of tillage and grazing.
* Meanwhile, land close to the Ightermurragh property is still on the market through auctioneer Dan Fleming.
He’s selling a 45-acre holding, including a sand pit at Ladysbridge, which he says is no longer in use, but which still has the plant in place. Offers around €7,000 per acre are sought for the land, which could also make a good warehouse location, he says.
* And in relation to another farm sale, at Lombardstown, in North Cork, Dan Fleming refused to confirm or deny the sale of a 108-acre tillage and drystock farm. Launched on the market last September as a private treaty sale — the land located near Mallow was described as top quality with a range of new sheds with a 250-head capacity.
All in one block, the farm was a ready-to-go-operation, something that wasn’t lost on its buyer, obviously.
The sale price hasn’t trickled out yet, but it’s expected the Lombardstown village property will have been agreed at, or over, the guide price of €10,000 per acre.
The farm is located close to Lombardstown’s Dairygold Mills, and Mallow town is less than four miles away. The property is ideally set up for a dairy operation, too, Dan Fleming said at the time.
