Data released by the European Commission has revealed that Ireland has the fourth highest land price in the EU. The data additionally reveals that the country has the fifth highest land rental price. The average price of purchasing one hectare of arable land was most expensive in the Netherlands.
At €322/ha in 2020, Irish grassland rental prices have increased by almost 25% in the last four years and are now fifth highest in the EU.
Irish land prices here came in behind the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy. The price of arable land in every region of the Netherlands was above all other available national averages in the EU. Among the EU regions for which data are available, the most expensive prices for arable land were in the Canarias region of Spain.
The strongest purchase price growth reported was between 2011 and 2020 for a hectare of arable land in Romania and Czechia. Other sharp rises were recorded for Estonia and Lithuania.
According to the data, prices increased in other member states as well, but at much lower rates. Annual rental prices of agricultural land (arable or permanent grassland) also vary between countries and regions within countries. Renting arable land or permanent grassland was most expensive in Italy, closely followed by the Netherlands.