Residential farm to test strong Macroom area market
By Conor Power
A couple of years ago, a 49-acre holding between Coachford and Macroom sold at public auction for €18,500 per acre, while an auction held last month saw a 61-acre farm exceed its asking price by €40,000.
It’s a part of the world where the land quality is high, while still being near the large population centre of the greater Cork city, and the important market towns across the county.
Farther west, the soil begins to deteriorate gradually, as the terrain becomes more hilly but even though it’s not on the level of the Golden Vale lands, farming here is productive and intense, and the competition to acquire land when it comes up for sale can sometimes be equally so.
A current offering of some 87.7 acres from Macroom auctioneers Heffernan Estates is located a little bit further west than the highest-scoring zone, and it also contains a mixture of land quality, so it’s unlikely that any price records will be broken.
At the same time, interest will surely be very keen for such a large block of agricultural land.
“The land is in three parcels,” explains selling agent Tom Heffernan.
“Below the road, including the farmyard, is very good land. It’s good, deep soil and it bounds the river below.
“Then you’ve the middle portion above the road, which includes the bungalow, and below the hill, which is good all-year grazing ground. After that, you have the hilly land.”
The farm is presented in one or more lots and the suggested lots are:
Lot 1, 22.6 acres with a farm yard and outbuildings.
Lot 2, 65.2 acres, with or without residence.
Lot 3, the entire holding.
The hilly part of the farm isn’t rocky, the agent points out, so the overall base standard of the land is good.
The farm is located about 12km to the north of Macroom, between the villages of Rylane and Ballinagree, and the agents say that they have already had a good number of enquiries on the property; little wonder when a large holding coming onto the market, which is always an event to turn the heads of a number of local owners of agricultural holdings. “There are a few strong farmers in the area,” says Tom points out.
There are entitlements with the property, and further details of these are available from the auctioneers.
In terms of price, Tom says that the land below the road is expected to make between €6,000 and €8,000 per acre, between €5,000 and €6,000 per acre for the middle portion of land, and something closer to €3,000 per acre for the hilly section.
The house can be sold separately, with its own curtilage on half an acre, the agent says, and its direct roadside access makes this an easy option to facilitate, should the market dictate.
It’s a three-bedroom bungalow in sound habitable condition, according to Tom.
Accommodation includes an entrance hall, living room, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms and a bathroom.
There is a good range of agricultural buildings too, on what is described by the auctioneers as a “good quality yard with four large outbuildings.”
Yard 1 measures 81 square metres. The second yard is the largest, at 123 square metres, and it has a central feeding aisle. The third yard is 106 square metres, while Yard No 4 has 111 square metres, and eight lambing pens.
The suggested lots are naturally divided, only touching at one point, and there is plenty of road frontage on both the upper and the lower sections, according to the selling agents.
