The median price per acre of farmland stood at €7,501 in 2021, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This represented a 7.4% increase from 2020, when the median price per acre stood at €6,987.
The CSO noted that arable land saw a considerably higher median price of €14,756 per acre in 2021, 22.6% above the value of €12,032 seen in 2020 and also much higher than the price for pasture land at €7,309.
Dublin and the South-East (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford) were the most expensive regions to buy agricultural land with median prices per acre of €38,863 and €11,118, respectively.
A total of 58,645 acres of agricultural land were sold nationally in 2021, up 20.8% on the 48,537 acres sold in 2020 and just 0.9% below the 59,199 acres sold in 2019.
The highest volume of agricultural land - 12,217 acres - was sold in the West but only 482 acres were sold in the Dublin region and 5,035 acres in the South-East.
The latest figures show that buyers in the Mid-East region (Louth, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) spent €91m on agricultural land, more than in any other region.
At the other end of the scale, only €17.8m was spent in the Dublin region and €52.1m in the Border region (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo).
Land was most affordable in the West (Galway, Mayo and Roscommon) region, where the median price was €5,327 per acre, the CSO said.
