The boom is back as farm sells for €58,000/ac

A 101ac residential farm on the outskirts of Cork city sold for €5.8m or €58,000/ac at auction.

The tillage and grass farm at Beechmount, Monees, Douglas is located within the new Cork City Development Boundary on an elevated site overlooking the south eastern suburbs.

The price was described by auctioneer Mick Barry as a powerful result. “I had expected the residential holding to make around €30,000/ac,” he said, but the price paid surpassed all his expectations.

“The place has everything,” he said, “location, location and location, a quality residence, powerful land and decent farm buildings. The residence is in need of modernisation but it’s very existence on a site that is close to the city would make it worth about €2m,” he said.

The price has set a new high and although a 3ac site outside Gorey made €90,000/ac earlier in the year, a price of €58,000/ac for a farm of over 100ac without current zoning has to be regarded as exceptional. Located in Douglas within minutes of the suburb, the residential tillage and grassland farm has 350m of frontage on to a local road and an even longer section of frontage on to the very busy Carrigaline/ Ringaskiddy road.

The auction opened with a €2m offer from a solicitor, acting for a local businessman, while a solicitor from Galway followed close behind. The price rose in bids of €100,000 until it reached €5m, at which point the auctioneer consulted with the representatives of the estate. On his return, the €100,000 bids kept coming. Matters slowed at €5.5m when the opening bidder declined to go any further but the auctioneer suggested a €50,000 bid .This was placed, whereupon the Galway solicitor also bid €50,000.

The opening bidder put down another €50,000 to bring in the price to €5.7m but two further bids saw the hammer fall to the Galway solicitor at €5.8m.