Whether it’s a site for your own home or a few acres to add to the farm, buying land in Roscommon or Westmeath is great value compared with most of the country. Here is what to check before you buy, and what it costs.
What land is selling for
The latest SCSI and Teagasc land market review gives these average prices per acre for 2025:
| County | Farm size | Good quality | Poorer quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roscommon | Under 50 acres | €10,333 | €5,167 |
| Roscommon | 50–100 acres | €10,033 | €6,300 |
| Roscommon | Over 100 acres | €7,000 | €6,300 |
| Westmeath | Under 50 acres | €15,500 | €7,500 |
| Westmeath | 50–100 acres | €13,500 | €7,533 |
| Westmeath | Over 100 acres | €15,750 | €8,050 |
The national average for good-quality land was €14,126 an acre, and the report expects prices to rise by around 4% in 2026. Every holding is different, of course: access, drainage, road frontage and location all make a big difference.
Stamp duty on land and sites
Land and sites are charged at the non-residential stamp duty rate of 7.5%. Two reliefs can reduce this a lot for farmers:
- Young trained farmer relief: no stamp duty for buyers under 35 who hold an approved agricultural qualification, have a Teagasc business plan and farm the land for five years. There is a lifetime cap of €100,000, and Revenue says the deed must be signed by 31 December 2029.
- Consanguinity relief: a reduced 1% rate when you buy land from, or are given it by, a close relative, provided you farm it (or lease it out) for six years and meet the farming conditions. Check the current end date with your solicitor.
Buying a site to build a home
Planning comes first. In parts of Co. Roscommon, the County Development Plan 2022–2028 asks people building a one-off rural house to show a local connection, social or economic, to the area. Book a pre-planning meeting with the council before you commit. New national rural housing guidelines were also published in draft in 2026.
Site suitability. If the site won’t be on mains sewerage, a qualified assessor needs to carry out a site suitability assessment under the EPA’s 2021 Code of Practice, to show the ground can take a treatment system. Get this done before you buy.
Services. Check road access and sightlines for the entrance, the water supply (mains or a well), an ESB connection and broadband. In Co. Roscommon the National Broadband Plan was 93.5% complete by July 2026.
Check the title and boundaries
- Look up the folio and map on landdirect.ie from Tailte Éireann. A plain copy costs €5.
- Rights of way that are registered appear in Part III of the folio for the land they cross, and are usually shown on the map.
- Walk the boundaries and compare them with the map. If anything doesn’t match, your solicitor can sort it out before closing.
- For older, unregistered land, your solicitor will search the Registry of Deeds.
Passing on or receiving farmland
Agricultural relief reduces the value of farmland for Capital Acquisitions Tax by 90% when it is gifted or inherited, as long as the person receiving it meets the “farmer test” and the land is actively farmed or leased for six years. From 2027, the farm succession partnership tax credit doubles to €10,000 a year.
Your checklist before you buy
- Walk the land and the boundaries
- Get the folio and map
- For a site: pre-planning meeting and site suitability assessment
- Check access, water, ESB and broadband
- Ask your solicitor about stamp duty reliefs
- Arrange your finance early. Land loans work differently to mortgages
We sell farms, land and sites across Roscommon, Westmeath and the surrounding counties, by private treaty and at public auction. See what’s for sale, or ask us to value your land.
This is a general guide, not legal, tax or planning advice. Talk to your solicitor, accountant and the local council about your own situation.
Sources: SCSI/Teagasc Agricultural Land Market Review (Apr 2026); Revenue, young trained farmer relief; Revenue, consanguinity relief; EPA Code of Practice 2021; Tailte Éireann, rights of way; Farmers Journal, agricultural relief (Sep 2026).
