Louth continues to rank among the most expensive counties in Ireland for agricultural land, with prices well above the national average in the latest annual survey published by Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) auctioneers and Teagasc.
The report shows that good-quality land in the county now commands an average of €17,666 per acre, placing Louth seventh overall in the country and firmly within the top tier of land values nationwide.
The upward trend is also evident in smaller holdings, where demand remains particularly strong. For farms under 50 acres, good-quality land in Louth has risen sharply to €17,250 per acre, up from €15,833 in 2024.
This marks one of the more notable year-on-year increases in Leinster and underlines the continued pressure on land supply in the region. Prices for poor-quality land have also climbed, reaching €10,250 per acre, compared to €9,833 in the previous survey.
The report found that the average national price for good quality agricultural land in 2025 was €14,126, an increase of 7% on the previous year.
Meanwhile, the average national price for poor quality agricultural land was €6,963 per acre, an increase of 5% on the previous year.
This year’s annual survey, the thirteenth in the series, provides a county-by-county breakdown of the prices of good and poor-quality land.
The survey found that Wexford has the most expensive land in the country with an average price of €19,226 per acre across the three main size holding categories. This was just ahead of Kildare on €19,200. After Kilkenny, Tipperary, Carlow and Meath, Louth has the seventh most expensive good quality land with an average price of €17,666 per acre
Leitrim has the lowest average poor quality land prices at €3,772 per acre across the three holding sizes.
At a provincial level Leinster has the highest average land prices with good quality land fetching €16,603 per acre up 9%, while the average price for an acre of poor-quality land remained unchanged at €8,344.
In Munster average prices remained stable with an acre of good quality land fetching €15,404 an acre while the average price for an acre of poor-quality land is €6,868.
While prices are lower on average in Connacht / Ulster, the region recorded the strongest annual growth rates. Good quality land averaged €10,372 per acre, representing a 17% increase while poor quality land averaged €5,677 per acre, a 20% increase. Roscommon, Donegal and Monaghan were the counties which recorded the largest price increases.
On holdings less than 50 acres, Kildare had the most expensive land at €19,100 per acre, with Tipperary second on €18,779 and Meath in third place at €18,364, just ahead of Carlow on €18,300. In Wexford, the average price of good quality land on holdings of less than 50 acres is €18,260 per acre; while rounding off the top six places is Laois on €17,750.
In Louth the price of an acre of good-quality land on holdings less than 50 acres is €17,250, up from €15,833 in 2024. This is the seventh highest in the country and the sixth highest in Leinster for this holding size. The price of an acre of poor-quality land in the county is €10,250, up from €9,833 in the last survey.
In Leinster, sales prices for good land in 2025 on holdings of less than 50 acres range from Kildare’s high of €19,100 – up from €18,680 the previous year – to €11,625 in Longford, while the prices for poor-quality land range from a high of €11,063 in Meath to €6,000 in both Offaly and Longford.
In Munster, sales prices for good quality land on holdings under 50 acres range from €18,779 in Tipperary to €11,333 in Clare. Prices for poor quality land ranged from an average of €8,750 in Cork to €6,250 in Limerick.
In Connacht/Ulster, sales prices for good land on holdings under 50 acres ranged from an average of €14,750 per acre in Monaghan to €8,167 in Leitrim. Prices for poor quality land ranged from an average of €7,125 in Cavan – up from €6,500 – to €3,675 per acre in Leitrim, the lowest price in the country for holdings under 50 acres.
In Leinster (excluding Dublin), land rental prices remained relatively stable overall. Land used for grazing/meadowing/silage increased slightly to €299 per acre – an increase of 2% – while land used for grazing only remained broadly unchanged. Rental values for cereal crop land declined by 4% to €306 per acre, while land used for other crops such as maize sugar beet and beans, recorded a strong increase of 9% to €383 per acre.
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By contrast, Munster recorded substantial increases across most land uses, reflecting strong demands for land in the region. Land for grazing/meadowing/silage increased by 19% to €350 per acre, while grazing-only land rose by 17%. Cropping land also recorded strong growth, with rental values for cereal crops increasing by 23% and potato land increasing by 27%, indicating particularly strong demand for specialised crop production land.
In Connacht / Ulster rental values for grassland increased significantly with grazing / meadowing / silage land rising by 18% to €245 per acre and grazing only land also increasing by 18% to €210 per acre.