Despite the price of houses in Dublin falling by 10.4 per cent, houses prices in Galway actually rose by 4.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year leaving top auctioneers shocked.
New figures from the Department of the Environment show that the average price of second hand homes in Galway was €356,430 for the first three months of 2008, while in the last quarter of 2007, the average price was €324,968.
However the price of new houses has fallen by 2.6 per cent.
Speaking to Galway First earlier this week Colm O’Donnellan of Galway auctioneers O’Donnellan and Joyce voiced his surprise at the study.
He said, “I couldn’t see how house prices could have increased. There has been a stabilisation, and house sales in the west of the city are still very strong. Sales are still quite brisk, but I just couldn’t see how they calculated an increase in prices”.
In 2007 the average price of a new house was €300,750. In the last quarter of 2007, the figure stood at €275,796, and in the first quarter of this year, the cost of a new home was €280,934.
Nationally the price of a second hand home dropped by 5.4 per cent, while the price of a new home dropped by 3.1 per cent.
