81-acre Waterford farm achieves over €24k/acre at auction
The 81-acre farm near Cappoquin, Co Waterford, was highly sought after.
Last featured on the Irish Examiner website on January 31, an 81-acre farm near Cappoquin, Co Waterford, went under the hammer last Friday, February 23, and achieved an exceptional result.
The property is in the townland of Ballyhane, around 14km from Dungarvan and just 4km from Cappoquin. With road frontage onto the N72, its location was always going to be a strong selling point.
However, the farm is also blessed with plenty of high-quality land, and it is this combination of quality, ease of access and rarity that made it a highly sought-after piece of ground.
Auctioneer Éamonn Spratt of Dungarvan-based REA Spratt pointed out before the auction it was “rare in West Waterford for a residential holding of this scale to come to the market… This is excellent limestone ground. It’s all in grass, with the exception of 10 acres that was harvested for maize prior to Christmas.”
An old farmhouse on the property along with a number of outbuildings, completed a very attractive picture.
The pre-auction guide price was estimated at €1.2m, or €15,000/acre and the agents reported a high level of enquiries before last Friday’s auction.
On the day itself, the auction room of the Park Hotel in Dungarvan was packed, as was the adjoining corridor for the start of proceedings at 12pm. No fewer than five auctioneers and five solicitors were among the attendees.
Bidding opened at the pre-auction guide of €1.2m and the property was declared on the market when it reached €1.6m. After a total of 21 bids, the hammer came down on a figure of €1.95m (over €24,000/acre) — purchased by a Waterford-City based accountant on behalf of an unnamed client.
Auctioneer Éamonn Spratt said the high level of enquiries which Spratts received for this holding was primarily by reason of the location and quality of the ground.
He also said the challenge of derogation, with farmers wishing to retain their stock levels, creates additional competition to those wishing to increase their land bank.
