Galway House Price Survey June 2021

The price of the average second-hand three-bed semi in County Galway has risen 1.4% to €175,000 in the last three months, according to a national survey by Real Estate Alliance.

Prices in the city this quarter rose 0.9% to €295,000, the Q2 REA Average House Price Index shows.

“Supply is currently extremely strict, with only 33 sales of three-bed semis in Galway city this quarter,” said Kevin Burke of REA McGreal Burke.

“Each auctioneer could typically sell that amount of properties in one month.

“The market is extremely buoyant. Investors continue to sell assets, and the replacement rate is dropping as first time buyers pay more for these properties, returning them to family homes and further decreasing the rental stock of the city.

“With a limited supply of new homes, it appears that the market is due to increase over the coming months.”

Time to sell across the county fell by a fortnight to four weeks this quarter, and in the city it remains at four weeks.

“The lack of supply remains the issue across all parts of the city, and especially on the city outskirts, with starter homes and larger family homes particularly in demand,” said Alan McKenna of REA Halnon McKenna.

“We see the upward trajectory on prices in the sub €400,000 market, which are selling exceptionally well.”

Average house prices have risen by almost €1,000 per week nationwide since the end of March, the REA Average House Price Survey has found.

The survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an accurate picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide.

Fuelled by pent-up demand and the return of physical viewing, the marketplace is also seeing the lowest supply and the shortest time taken to sell in recent history.

And as multiple buyers bid for scarce supplies, the average three bed semi is now reaching sale agreed after just four weeks on the market across the country – less than half the ten-week average this time last year.

The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by €10,000 over the past three months to €253,685 – representing an annual increase of 8%.

The biggest rises in Q2 came in commuter counties and the country’s large towns as buyers continue to move out further from the city in preparation for long-term hybrid working situations.

In Dublin city, house prices rose by €1,500 per week in Q2, increasing from €438,500 in March to a present rate of €456,667.

Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford cities shared a combined increase of 3.5% in the past 12 weeks with prices rising by €10,000 to an average of €275,000.

Three bed semis in commuter counties rose 4.33% by over €11,000 in the past three months to an average of €270,111 – with the average home selling in just three weeks, down from a high of 11 weeks a year ago.

As the flight to rural locations continues, prices in the rest of the country’s towns rose by over 4.6% in Q2 to €176,690.