Wicklow farm tops €1m mark after lots of bidding
IN ONE of the larger farm sales of the year, Wexford auctioneer David Quinn recently sold a 178ac non-residential holding at Kilcashel, Avoca in Co Wicklow. In lots that sold during and after auction, the place reached its guide of between €1m and €1.2m.
The farm is located 2km from Avoca and 6km from Rathdrum and Aughrim.
A total of 85ac of the ground is tilled and sown with spring corn and maize, while 75ac is in grass, with 9ac in woodland and 10ac in scrubland that needs attention.
The grass and tillage portion is laid out in seven large divisions with traditional hedgerow. There is 300m frontage on to the Avoca to Aughrim road and access from a secondary road at the other side of the property. A concrete paved roadway runs right through the farm.
On auction day the farm was offered in lots and as an entire, but as the sale unfolded the bidding on the entire was no match for the lots and so the smaller portions prevailed.
The first to be offered was a 33.8ac parcel in tillage with a small grove of mature trees and 300m of road frontage on to the Avoca to Aughrim road.
The parcel went on the market at €250,000 and sold to a local farmer for €285,000.
The second lot, made up of 51.7ac mainly in tillage aside from 10ac of scrubland, was withdrawn from auction at €270,000.
It sold immediately afterwards for a higher figure to the highest bidder, a north Wexford farmer.
The third and most substantial lot extending to 70ac is in a mix of grass and maize with about 5ac of woodland. This was withdrawn at €400,000 and sold after auction to the buyer of the previous lot. A fourth lot with access to the Avoca-Rathdrum road comprises 23.7ac mainly in grass with 2ac of woodland and 1ac of scrubland. This was also withdrawn from auction and sold immediately afterwards to a local farmer, making substantially more than the highest bid of €115,000.
WEXFORD AUCTION
Mr Quinn also handled the sale of a 60.78ac residential farm at Ballyhorna, Ballycanew near Gorey in Co Wexford. It sold in lots, making a total of €702,000, beating the pre-auction guide by more than €250,000.
Located 4km from Ballycanew and 6km from Gorey, the farm has good frontage onto a local road and comes with a residence and farm buildings. A traditional two-storey farmhouse at the heart of the farmstead is in need of upgrading and modernisation.
A large yard to the front of the residence has a range of traditional out-offices, including a three-column round-roof shed with two leantos. The land is all in grass and laid out in 13 level divisions.
At auction, the place was offered in lots, with the residence and farmyard on 3.26ac forming the first parcel to be brought before the gavel. This attracted eight bidders when it opened at €60,000; it went on the market at €192,000 and sold at €202,000. It was guided pre-auction at between €80,000 and €100,000.
The second lot made up of 23.5ac opened at €40,000 and attracted four bidders before it went on the market at €110,000 and sold to a local farmer for €205,000.
The third lot made up of 34ac opened at €120,000, and with five bidders battling it out it went on the market at €150,000 and sold at €295,000 to a dairy farmer.
This 178-acre holding near Avoca sold in four lots. A total of 85ac of the ground is tilled and sown with spring corn and maize, while 75ac is in grass, with 9ac in woodland and 10ac in scrubland that needs attention