Persistent shortages in the residential market coupled with robust demand has resulted in stronger price growth in 2024.
Latest figures from the Sherry FitzGerald Residential Price Index reveals that the average price of a second-hand home in County Galway rose by 7.9 per cent during the year, compared to a 6.8 per cent increase recorded the previous year. In the west region, house prices also rose by 7.9 per cent in 2024, up from 7.2 per cent in 2023. This is compared to a nationwide increase of 7.2 per cent in 2024, significantly greater than the 3.8 per cent rise seen in 2023.
Supply of homes under 'significant pressure'
The supply of both new and second-hand homes remains under significant pressure. In County Galway, completions in 2024 worryingly fell by 5.5 per cent to a total of 1,244 units, the lowest level since 2021.
Similar to trends seen around the country, the number of newly built apartments also took a big hit, falling to 125 units, which is less than half what was recorded in 2023. This decline was partially offset by a 37 per cent increase in scheme houses built during the year, which reached 640 units, while the number of one-off house completions fell by 14 per cent.
Only 30,330 new residential units were completed nationwide, a 6.7 per cent decline compared to the same period in 2023. This falls well below the Sherry FitzGerald estimate of 56,200 new homes required per annum to meet demand, or indeed the 62,000 units required per annum in the short term.
In the west region, Sherry FitzGerald estimates that an average of 4,950 new homes need to be built each year to satisfy demand. This is much higher than the 2,020 units completed in 2024. This means that development will need to ramp up quite a bit to keep up with demand.
Reductions highlight the need for more development
The latest supply analysis from Sherry FitzGerald also found a critical shortage of available second-hand homes for sale, which reached a new historic low. In January 2025, Galway had just 600 homes advertised for sale across the county, representing an 11.7 per cent reduction on a year earlier, and representing only 0.5 per cent of the county’s private housing stock.
Across the entire state, only 10,380 second-hand homes were being advertised for sale, comprising just 0.5 per cent of Ireland’s private housing stock. This is a significant drop from the 54,120 properties that were available when data collection started in January 2010.
With supply so limited, it is not surprising that there were fewer property transactions in County Galway during 2024. Approximately 2,064 sales were recorded in the 12 months up to November 2024 in the county, an 11 per cent reduction on 2023 levels.
Both new and second-hand homes saw a noticeable decline. In Galway city, sales were down 18 per cent to 820, while those outside the city fell by six per cent to reach 1,244.
Looking to the year ahead, price inflation is expected to remain strong this year with values nationally anticipated to increase by between eight per cent and 10 per cent, while similar increases are also likely in the Galway market. Transaction activity will probably see some improvement, as interest rates continue to fall, but this increase will be constrained by a continued shortage of both new and second-hand stock.
