72-acre farm made over €12,000 per acre

The residential farm was approximately 1km from the village of Herbertstown, close to the Tipperary border.

The auction was conducted by Killarney-based auctioneer Tom Spillane.

The farm, featured on these pages on September 28, was offered in one lot only at the Deebert House Hotel in Kilmallock on Friday, October 27.

According to the selling agent, the public auction was well attended.

This was good-quality limestone land in the Golden Vale, after all, and it’s a rare day that such a substantial quantity of it comes under the hammer in one lot.

Over 50 were in attendance, and the auction got under way at 3pm sharp, with the first bid coming in at a reasonable start of €600,000. The bids came quick and fast and after a further eight bids, the price had moved up to €720,000.

At this level, the property was already at the pre-stated price guide of €10,000/acre, but more was expected. A recess was therefore called, during which the auctioneer took instruction from the vendors. After a short break, the auction was recommenced, with the farm now being placed on the market.

This prompted another round of bids — 18 in all — which saw the value of the Golden Vale farm climb to something closer to what many observers reckoned it would fetch.

The hammer finally came down on a figure of €920,000.

Speaking afterwards, Tom Spillane said: “This represents a price of €12,777 per acre, which represents above the average price per acre for land in this area, but it also reflects the excellent quality and condition of the land in the heart of the Golden Vale and the huge demand shown for it.”

In total, there were five separate bidders involved.

Given the number of progressive dairy farmers in the area, this and the overall result were not entirely unexpected, but it was a very welcome positive auction result, nonetheless.