€1 million sought for 69-acre farm in East Cork

The property is in the townland of Couragh, 8km from Midleton

Aerial view of the main block of land on the 69-acre residential farm at Couragh, Dungourney

High-quality land has never been in short supply in East Cork, and in the last few years, the level of appreciation for land in this part of Munster has increased noticeably.

It’s not too surprising to learn, therefore, that a 69-acre residential holding located just 3km from Dungourney is already under offer, after being recently launched on the market with Blarney-based auctioneers Thomas J O’Driscoll.

The property is in the townland of Couragh and is only 8km from Midleton and 24km from Cork City.

It is offered for sale in lots or as the entire holding.

The three lots are naturally divided by roads, with a 20-acre forestry section located a short distance from the main part of the farm. This plantation has a mixture of broadleaf and evergreen trees, including Japanese spruce, Norway spruce, Scots pine, ash, sycamore, and oak.

The property has a traditional two-storey farmhouse and a series of stone outbuildings.

“The house needs to be totally refurbished,” says selling agent Tom O’Driscoll, “and so does the yard and its outbuildings. It could be sold in three lots, but the preference is to sell it in one.”

The executor’s sale was meant to go for public auction, but the Covid-19 restrictions forced the selling agents to have a re-think and the farm is now being offered under private treaty.

“Trying to auction it online was a possibility too,” says Tom, “but it wasn’t an attractive option. Farmers like to be in a room or in a yard or in a building or some physical place bidding for something, so we’re staying with private treaty.

“There’s a lot of interest and there’s a bid of €910,000 at the moment on the entire holding.”

The agent cites the farm’s location and the quality of the land as the primary features that make it a sought-after investment.

“It’s a very fine piece of ground,” he says. “There’s excellent road frontage there, the majority of the land is fronting onto the public road.

“There’s also a licence to fell the forestry.”

The area around the farm is a very active dairying stronghold, close to busy and large markets.

The price expectation is in the region of €1,000,000 (€15,000/acre).