The latest Sherry FitzGerald Agricultural Land Price Index saw the average value of agricultural land increase by 1.8% in the first half of the year, to stand at approximately €9,500 per acre.
Sherry FitzGerald reports that the opening six months of the year witnessed somewhat mixed performance in the Irish agricultural land market. Following a robust opening quarter in terms of price performance, the pace of growth moderated during the second quarter.
It says price trends in the second quarter reflect a market that is stabilising, rather than appreciating akin to the growth in the Irish residential market.
The well-known estate agent says its regional analysis of land prices reveals diverse performance during the opening half of 2014.
The Dublin and Mid-East regions maintain their positions as the most expensive areas in the country for agricultural land; the average price per acre for all farmland in the Dublin region stood at approximately €14,000, remaining stable in the quarter, while land values in the Mid-East stood at approximately €10,500 per acre.
The Midlands region leads the recovery in terms of price growth and experienced the most notable rise in average land values of 4.1% in the year to June 2014.Land values in this region increased from approximately €7,700 to €8,000 per acre in the six month period.
Other significant increases were evident in the Mid-East of 3.8% and in the South West, 3.5%. However, the South-East, the West and the Border regions witnessed downward pressure on land values, albeit modest, in the six month period.
