Galway property prices rise by €25,000 in one year

Can buyers meet the higher price?

PROPERTY prices in County Galway have risen by €25,000 in the last year, with the median asking price now standing at €375,000.

The figures are from the latest MyHome Property Price Report, which revealed that prices have risen by €10,000 over the past three months.

The asking prices for a three-bed semi-detached house in the county rose by €55,000 in the last year to €375,000, while a four-bed semi-detached house in Galway rose €35,000 in the last year to €400,000. That accounts for a €20,000 jump since March.

There were 823 properties for sale in Galway at the end of June – an increase of 21 per cent in three months. The average time for a property to go sale agreed in the county after being placed up for sale now stands at just over three months.

The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland, believes the key question from his team’s was findings was whether buyers will actually be able to meet the elevated asking prices.

“Our data, while surprising, does not suggest vendors are being unrealistic. Through May and June transactions were being settled seven to eight per cent above the original asking price – if anything signalling more intense competition amongst homebuyers,” he explained looking at the national figures.

“A key piece of context here is the latest data showing average earnings (AWE) were €56,000, up 4.4 per cent on the year. So, the bigger picture is still one in which house prices are rising broadly in line with wages – so that affordability is broadly steady.

“A somewhat worrying feature of the market was that liquidity among the existing stock of homes is at its weakest rate since 2014, at just two per cent of 2.2 million homes. This implies the average home is sold just once every 50 years.

“The underlying message here is that existing homeowners clearly feel unwilling to consider moving home – for fear of failing to secure another. The elevated cost of retrofitting an existing home may also be another impediment.”

A wild card in the market was the sharp rise in ‘notices-for-termination’ of rental tenancies. Given the pick-up in terminations since mid-2025, and with 60 per cent of landlords intending to sell, this could in time add to the housing supply market by five per cent.

“Clearly, here a temporary improvement in housing availability for homebuyers, would come at the expense of those seeking to rent,” added Conall.

“In this context, the clear risk to our previous forecast that Irish house prices would rise by 4 per cent looks probably to the upside,” he concluded.