Westmeath agricultural land price in Irish top ten

Westmeath has the fifth most expensive land in Leinster on holdings less than 50 acres, with the average cost of an acre of agricultural land hitting €16,171.

The figures are from the latest Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland/Teagasc agricultural land market review and outlook report for 2025.

The figures suggest the national average farmland sales prices are forecast to rise by 6% in 2025. The SCSI auctioneers and valuers expect average national land rental prices to increase by 7% this year.

The survey found that on holdings under 50 acres Westmeath has experienced a significant increase in land price from €13,786 in 2023 to the 2025 figure of €16,171 per acre.

SCSI auctioneers and valuers say the outlook for the agricultural land market remains strong for 2025 and are forecasting that the price of agricultural land nationally will increase by 6% on average this year.

The survey suggests auctioneers expect land values to rise again primarily due to better milk prices, strong competition among farmers and investors and recent changes to Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme.

Changes to the stocking rate thresholds has increases the demand for land, especially among dairy farmers in Ireland.

The survey found the most expensive land in the country last year was in Waterford with good quality land on holdings between 50 and 100 acres fetching an average sales price of €23,500 per acre.

Mayo has the lowest land sales prices in the country at €3,075 for an acre of poor-quality land on holdings over 100 acres. Waterford, also has the most expensive land on holdings under 50 acres at €23,000 per acre of good quality land, followed by Kildare on €18,680, with Cork in third place at €17,875, just marginally ahead of Tipperary on €17,865.

Carlow was next on €17,417, followed by Meath where an acre of good quality land was €16,890, with Wexford on €16,500 in seventh place and Westmeath clock in at eighth in the national ranking.

In Leinster, sales prices for good land in 2024 on holdings of less than 50 acres range from Kildare’s high of €18,680 - up from €16,400 the previous year – to €12,042 in Offaly, while the prices for poor-quality land range from a high of €10,200 in Kildare to €6,500 in Longford. The price of an acre of poor-quality land in Westmeath was €7,458 per acre.

Meanwhile the price of an acre of good land in Westmeath on holdings between 50 to 100 acres last year was €14,720, while the price of an acre of good land on holdings over 100 acres was €15,525 up from €13,750 in 2023. The corresponding prices for an acre of poor land were €8,025 and €7,500.

Chartered Valuation Surveyor, Dillon Murtagh of Murtagh Bros in Mullingar, is a member of the SCSI’s Rural Agency Committee. He says land prices are being driven by a continued low supply of land to the market and demand across major sectors for agricultural outputs including a thriving dairy sector.

“Dairy farms are projected to have a robust 2025 and will continue to significantly influence the demand for both owned and leased land,” Mr Murtagh said, “Over three quarter of respondents to our survey (77%) ranked dairy farmers as the main buyer type of agricultural land.

“In addition, 62% of respondents expect an increase in demand from dairy farmers in 2025, with just 2% of respondents expecting this demand from dairy farmers to decrease.”

The Chartered Valuation Surveyor there are a number of factors at play in the price increase: “There are several other factors supporting the positive outlook. After a poor start, last year’s weather improved, and as a result crop yields performed better than expected. We have also seen a marked reduction in interest rates, which of course means lower finance costs.

“That said uncertainty in the global economy, along with recently imposed US tariffs on EU agricultural products are casting a long shadow. While it’s impossible to predict the outcome and potential impact, it’s clear these factors could introduce volatility into the land market and may temper some of the upward price momentum.”

Mr Murtagh said one noticeable trend survey respondents picked up on is a significant landowner shift towards long-term leasing over short-term rentals.

“As the market continues to evolve, we believe long-term leasing will remain the preferred model, supported by government policies that encourage security of tenure and investment in land productivity. As a result, nearly 84% of survey respondents noted that farmers would typically pay more per acre for similar quality land on a long-term lease compared to conacre.”

Teagasc economist, Dr Jason Loughrey, believes the strong improvement in output prices for livestock and milk which emerged last year is continuing into this year.