‘Ground-breaking’ year of Wicklow land sales as top-end prices reach €58k per acre’. Wicklow People. 19/12/23.

A prominent estate agent has hailed another bumper year of Wicklow land sales that saw a 40-acre Arklow property fetch over €1 million at auction and a 2.65-acre parcel of land in Enniskerry sell for a staggering €165,000.
David Quinn of Quinn Property has hailed an outstanding year of Garden County sales, with the “all-time high” in prices that began in the summer of 2022 continuing well into 2023 before land prices – particularly agricultural properties – reverted to pre-bubble levels.

Among the outstanding sales overseen by David was a substantial 40.5-acre holding in Johnstown, Arklow, that sold for an astounding €26,174 per acre at an online auction in May.

The land had been guided between €12,000 – €15,000 per acre prior to the auction, with the adjoining residence guiding at €180,000.

With frenzied bidding, the hammer finally fell on the 40.5 acre Lot at €1.06 million (€26,174 per acre), with the residence reaching €220,000 – €40,000 above the guide price.

Later that month, a “spectacular and scenic” 2.85-acre property in Killegar, Enniskerry, sold for a whopping €167,000 at a hotly contested online auction.

Featuring extensive road frontage and breath-taking, panoramic views over Bray Head, the Wicklow coast and the Sugar Loaf Mountain, ‘Highland View Lodge’ caused quite a stir when it went under the hammer, far exceeding the guided price of €130,000.

“It was a ground-breaking year in general for land sales, and we handled a large volume of land which, particularly in the first half of the year, yielded exceptional prices,” Mr Quinn said.

“We came into 2023 with prices at an all-time high, which continued for the first half of the year. You were seeing prices of anything from €12k an acre up to as high as €26k.

“What we found, as the year went on, is that the bottom end didn’t change much, but the real top end dropped to €16k or €17k per acre.

“The rest of 2023 was more challenging with the weather, so the market reverted to where it was before. I suppose we saw the year finishing with prices between €10k and €17k per acre, depending on the quality of the land and the location.

“So, it’s not so much that the market has gone backwards, but rather, that there was a bubble from summer 2022 to summer 2023, driven by the good returns from dairy and tillage, in particular.

“Some of our outstanding sales included a large 40-acre property in Johnstown, Arklow,” he continued.

“It was at €650k to €700k, and it made over €1 million – that’s €26.5k per acre. For a large block, that was the strongest price of the year.

“In terms of smaller parcels, we sold 2.85 acres at Killigar, Enniskerry for €167k – €58.5k per acre. That particular property’s price was not influenced so much by agricultural value, as I believe the buyer had plans to develop the land.”

Although December is traditionally a quiet month for land sales, David has one more auction to oversee – a 33.4-acre holding in Tinakilly, Aughrim, that will be sold at public auction (and online) at 34 Main Street, Carnew, on Wednesday, December 20 at 12 p.m.

Guiding at €8k – €10k per acre, the lands have good frontage onto a cul-de-sac road, are laid out in four divisions and will be offered in three Lots.

“We’re getting ready for the final auction of the year – a 33.4-acre property in Aughrim that has received a nice bit of (mostly local) interest so far,” Mr Quinn added.

“December is usually a very quiet month, but we have several farms to come to the market that we will be getting ready in early January.

“Some years can be slow to get going, but I have a lot of instructions for properties already, so I think it will start pretty quickly.”

This article was written by Eoin Mac Raghnaill and can be accessed here.