Can you value a development site from a price-per-acre table?

What did the new figures actually measure?

If an acre of residentially zoned land had a national median price of €258,716 last year, is a four-acre site worth just over €1 million? It is an understandable calculation. It is also the wrong way to value the site.

The Central Statistics Office published its Residentially Zoned Land Prices 2025 release on 10 November 2026. It recorded 292 transactions covering 575.1 acres, with a national median of €258,716 per acre. That median was 11% above the revised 2024 figure. The CSO classifies the work as a Frontier Series, meaning the methods or data sources are still developing and should be interpreted with particular care (Central Statistics Office, 2026a).

The statistic describes the middle transaction after the included sales are ordered by price per acre. It is not a price index and does not say that every acre rose by 11%. The CSO expressly warns that neither its mean nor its median is suitable for measuring price evolution because the mix of land sold changes from year to year (Central Statistics Office, 2026a).

The local evidence is useful — and very thin

The publication becomes more interesting for Roscommon, Leitrim and Longford when the sample sizes are set beside the prices. The Border region, which includes Leitrim, had 52 recorded transactions covering 98.2 acres and a median of €122,300 per acre. The West, which includes Roscommon, had 33 transactions covering 63.8 acres and a median of €304,095. The Midlands, which includes Longford, had 20 transactions covering 24.6 acres and a median of €143,506 (Central Statistics Office, 2026b).

At county level, Leitrim's published median was €71,894 per acre. It was based on six transactions covering 4.9 acres. The county entries for Roscommon and Longford were suppressed for confidentiality, so the release provides no publishable county median for either. There are no town figures for Carrick-on-Shannon, Dromod or Drumod, Mohill, Strokestown, Rooskey or Roosky, Tarmonbarry or Termonbarry, Lanesborough, Clondra or Longford town (Central Statistics Office, 2026b).

That is not a flaw to conceal; it is the central limitation. Six Leitrim sales can help describe the recorded evidence. They cannot establish the value of every zoned field in the county, still less a particular site in one settlement. The regional figures are broader again and can be influenced by transactions far from the property being considered.

Zoned land is not the same as ready-to-build land

The CSO matched Revenue stamp-duty records, Property Registration Authority data and MyPlan zoning data. It excluded agricultural and forestry transactions, land sold with a dwelling, inheritances, commonage and land where more than half of the area was not zoned for residential or mixed use. Only sales where the land area could be verified were included (Central Statistics Office, 2026c).

A zoning objective is therefore the entry point to this dataset, not proof that a site has planning permission or can be developed immediately. A site may still require a suitable layout, road access, water and wastewater solutions, surface-water design, open space, ecology work and compliance with the current development plan. Title constraints, rights of way, abnormal construction costs and the sequence in which infrastructure can be delivered may also affect what a purchaser can pay.

The CSO also says that updated zoning information was not available for every local authority in every year and that some sales may have been excluded where designations changed. This is another reason to check the current statutory plan and planning history for the mapped site rather than relying on a national table (Central Statistics Office, 2026a; 2026c).

Why a smaller site can command more per acre

Development land is not a bag of identical acres. Two sites of the same area can support different numbers and types of homes. One may have an existing entrance and services at the boundary; the other may require a new junction, pumping station, retaining structures or third-party access. One may be capable of phased development; another may carry costs before the first house can be sold.

The practical valuation question is what the completed development could reasonably realise, less the costs, finance, risk and time required to deliver it. That is why residual valuation is useful, provided the assumptions are exposed and tested. A price-per-acre comparison remains relevant, but as a cross-check against comparable sites rather than a substitute for examining this one.

My opinion is straightforward: a landowner should be shown the evidence, including the awkward evidence. Quoting the highest regional figure may win an instruction, but it does not improve the site, fund infrastructure or shorten the planning process. A reasoned asking price should reflect what a credible purchaser can build and finance, while preserving room for competition where the market supports it.

What should a landowner or buyer assemble?

Before a zoned site is priced or offered for sale, assemble:

• an up-to-date folio, map and measured site area
• the current zoning map and the written objective that applies
• the planning history, including any live permission, conditions and expiry date
• available information on access, water, wastewater, drainage and utilities
• surveys or reports dealing with levels, flood risk, ecology, archaeology or contamination where relevant
• an indicative capacity study showing the number and type of homes that may be achievable
• a costed note on infrastructure, abnormal works, professional fees, finance and phasing
• comparable completed land sales, with differences in planning status and services made clear.

For a vendor, this file lets the property's potential be marketed without pretending every uncertainty has disappeared. For a buyer, it helps separate the price of the land from the money and time still needed to create homes. The CSO release is a welcome addition to that evidence. Its real value lies in showing both the recorded prices and how carefully they must be used.