The land market rallied in Down last year, with the average price sitting at £12,508/acre. This represents an increase of 11%, or £1,262/acre, on the 2020 average of £11,246/acre. Down is the third most expensive county in NI for agricultural land and is in seventh place across the whole island. In both rankings, it sits just behind Tyrone.

There were 1,839 acres of land publicly advertised for sale in the Mourne County last year. This is a decrease of 880 acres when compared to 2020 levels and is 497 acres less than 2019.

Our figures indicate that the land area on the market in Down during 2021 equates to 0.46% of the county’s total arable and grassland area.

Overall, there were 79 separate pieces of land publicly for sale in Down last year, with the average lot standing at 23 acres. This compares to 88 lots averaging 31 acres the year before. Our records show that 16% of properties for sale in Down during 2021 included a dwelling house, with 84% of lots deemed non-residential.

The top land price recorded in Down was just shy of £25,000/acre for a 10-acre block of farmland in the south of the county.

There were also several similar sized lots that made around the £20,000/acre mark last year.

The lowest priced lot was a 90-acre property which sold for just over £4,500/acre. This farm included a mixture of land types, including some poor-quality land and an area that is planted in trees.

Almost a fifth of land sales in Down last year made up £9,000/acre and nearly a quarter made £9,001-£12,000/acre. Our survey found 14% of sales fell within the £12,001-15,000/acre bracket and 45% of transactions equated to over £15,000/ac.