Wexford tillage ground sells for €18,500/ac at ‘ding-dong’ auction

A 57AC non-residential holding at Ballynabola New Ross was sold at auction last week making a cracking €1.055m, or over €18,500/ac. This marked a very strong price for agricultural land and could be an omen of things to come in Wexford in 2018.

Located on the edges of Ballynabola village near the Horse and Hound Hotel on the N25, the farm is 10km west of New Ross on the Wexford road.

Laid out in five large fields the property has been in tillage for a number of years with 50ac in stubble and 7ac in broken ground planted with a crop of potatoes. It is described by David Quinn as the best of tillage ground, dry and free-draining and suitable to any agricultural use.

Its location close to the village gives the place a certain amount of ‘hope value’ for the future. In the event of obtaining the required planning it may have residential prospects as a standalone farm.

At auction matters opened when auctioneer David Quinn accepted a bid of €500,000 from the farmer who has been renting the land for a number of years. A second bidder, an accountant acting for an unnamed client, joined the fray and matters continued apace until the price on offer reached €910,000. At this point the auctioneer took a recess to consult with the vendor and was sent back to the auction room post-haste for fear the heat would evaporate from the sale.

Mr Quinn put the farm on the market at €910,000 whereupon the accountant withdrew but only to be replaced by a new bidder who put €912,000 on the table. The original bidder came back and a rapid fire ding-dong battle raged until the hammer fell and the place was knocked down to the opening bidder for €1,055,000. In all the transaction took about ten minutes.

Golden Vale sale

Staying in the south-east John FitzGerald of Dougan FitzGerald, Clonmel sold a 32ac of prime grassland located at the heart of the Golden Vale at Garranlea, New Inn making €435,000 or in the region of €13,500/ac.

Situated just to the rear of the famous Rockwell College, the place is described as a superb grassland farm with plenty of road frontage on to the Golden/ New Inn road and frontage on to a side road. The place needs some attention having been rented for quite a number of years.

At auction the sale opened at €250,000 and three bidders took to the chase. It rose in price to €300,000, at which point the auctioneer consulted with the vendors when it was decided to put the place on the market.

Bidding continued until the hammer fell at €435,000 and the place was sold to a local drystock farmer.