Galway’s housing market is under mounting pressure, with new figures from the GeoDirectory Q2 2025 Residential Buildings Report pointing to rising prices, fewer sales, and an ongoing mismatch between supply and demand.
The average transaction price in Galway hit €364,536 in June 2025. While still below the national average of €420,469, the steady increase reflects the wider affordability crunch as demand continues to outstrip supply. Nationally, house prices rose by 9.8 per cent in the past year, with Dublin topping the scale at €585,754 and Leitrim recording the lowest average at €204,323.
But even as prices climb, sales are falling. Galway city saw the sharpest decline in transactions nationwide for the second year in a row. Some 185 fewer homes changed hands compared with 2024, a 21 per cent drop, following a 20.9 per cent fall between June 2023 and June 2024.
Construction has remained relatively steady, if modest, compared with national and local needs. Over the past 12 months, 1,412 new residential addresses were added in Galway as a whole, the fifth-highest in the state but dwarfed by Dublin (12,762 ) and Cork (3,363 ). That figure is just 119 more than the previous year, a small increase set against a worsening national housing emergency.
Commencement notices collapse
A sharper warning sign comes from commencement notices (CNs ), which act as early indicators of housing activity.
In 2024, a national surge in CNs, driven by developers rushing to avail of waived levies and water charges, saw about 60,000 filed. Galway’s share was 2,672, split between 1,152 in the city and 1,520 in the county.
But so far in 2025, the city has recorded just 11 CNs, the second-lowest construction indicator since 2014. Galway County Council has fared better, with 290 notices. While overall construction in the county rose by 5.4 per cent, producing 1,284 new homes, the slowdown in commencements raises concerns about the pipeline of future builds.
Affordability gap widens
Alongside these pressures, affordability is deteriorating sharply.
New research by Chill shows that Galway is the least affordable county in Connacht for first-time buyers. A single applicant would need an income of €78,528 to qualify for a mortgage on the county’s median first-time-buyer home, far above Galway’s median income of €42,279, leaving a gap of more than €36,000.
Chill’s head of personal lines sales, Ian O’Reilly, said: “Galway’s figures underline the pressure first-time buyers are under in the west of Ireland. Even with relatively strong local incomes, the gap remains significant. For many, the only way to bridge it is through a mortgage exemption, buying with another person or opting for a property below the county’s median price.”
The GeoDirectory report also highlights how median household incomes fall well short of the levels needed to buy in Galway. Newly built homes in the city now cost €467,745 on average, requiring a household income of €105,182, but the median local income is just €64,032. In the county, new builds average €407,462, requiring €91,679 against a median of €63,831.
Even existing homes remain out of reach for many, with prices of €358,000 in Galway city and €306,250 in the county. Buyers would need household incomes of €80,550 and €68,906, respectively, to purchase at those levels.
A worsening picture
For Galway, the findings underline a worsening housing picture. Prices are rising, sales are falling, and construction levels remain far below what is needed. With vacancy and dereliction compounding the shortfall, affordability gaps continue to widen, leaving the county under severe strain.
