There’s been a significant drop in the price of land in Donegal, with the Irish Farmers Journal reporting fall of almost 45%, the steepest reduction in the country.
That compares to a national increase in land prices of 16% over 2020 prices.
The average price of land across the Republic of Ireland last year was €11,966 an acre, up 16% on 2020 figures.
In Donegal, the average price of farmland fell by 44% to €9,589 an acre, compared to €17,176 an acre in 2020. However, the Farmers Journal’s analysis notes the supply of farmland for sale in Donegal in 2021 returned to more usual levels, after a drop the previous year caused by the lengthy COVID-19 lockdowns put on border counties.
One sale made national headlines: the purchase of 116 acres on Inch Island at auction for €850,000 with the buyer – a business person – planning to rewild the land.
The paper notes this reflects what it describes as a new category of buyer emerging for the first time – business people buying land to re-wild and to offset carbon.
