Agricultural land prices rose by more than 25 per cent in the last quarter of 2004, according to preliminary figures released by the Central Statistics Office.
The survey said that in the October-December period, the average price of agricultural land for a hectare was €18,442, or €7,436 an acre.
It said the prices being paid for land were 24.8 per cent up on the same period in 2003 and 26.2 per cent over what was being paid in the third quarter of 2004.
It estimated that over the whole of 2004, the average price paid for a hectare of agricultural land was €16,156 or €6,538 per acre. This was an increase of 12.3 per cent on the previous year.
The price of land varied in the different regions with the highest prices being paid for land in the mideast region of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.
There, an average of €22,370 was paid a hectare.
This was followed by the midlands where the average price a hectare was €17,669 and then the southeast, where the average price was €17,120.
The lowest price paid was recorded in the Border areas, where prices fell to €12,819 a hectare.
The period covered by the Central Statistics survey covered the time immediately before the introduction of the changes in the Common Agricultural Policy, which came into effect on January 1st this year.
Auctioneers and farmers say that since the beginning of the year, there has been an upsurge in agricultural land sales as some farmers are hoping to get out of dairy farming, which appears to be in decline.
There is also a strong demand for land for afforestation which has been driving land sales in the west and Border areas because of the increases in premiums for forestry.