The residential lettings market in Galway city has enjoyed a period of particularly strong growth in the year to date. As a result of the downturn in house sales many potential buyers have been biding their time and renting.
Naomi McComiskey, who is looking after the lettings section of Property Partners Maxwell & Heaslip comments “The rental market has continued to grow over the past 12 months. Uncertainty in the property market has led to many owners deciding to rent their properties rather than sell. This is proving to be a good option for many owners and investors. At the same time people unsure of purchasing are choosing to rent in the short to medium term until the property market has stabilised. While in most cases the rents have not seen any significant growth for the past year, the lower interest rates will balance out the lack of increased income. All in all, these factors are contributing to a positive residential lettings market in and around Galway, which we believe looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.”
Naomi adds “While there undoubtedly has been some negative impact in properties on the further outskirts of Galway, the greater city area has not been substantially affected by the turbulent market conditions. The net effect of these developments in the rental sector is working to the benefit of the renter who now has a wider selection of properties to choose from, and as a result landlords are recognising that their properties need to be well presented and well managed. In the long term this is of benefit to all parties involved.”
With the introduction of the residential tenancies act regulating landlord and tenant affairs and the increasingly stringent building standards, it is more than ever vital that rental properties be managed on a professional basis. Naomi goes on to say “The growth of our letting service has seen us double our portfolio since the merger of Maxwell’s & Heaslip’s office last year. We are fortunate to be in a position to be able to offer landlords a complete letting service which takes out the hassle of the day to day issues that arise with lettings. Galway City supports a very young population with two large educational institutions and is still the city of choice for quality of life across all age groups.”
Looking forward to 2009, realistically, an increase in rents does not seem likely - if anything we may see a drop in some areas. In addition, the soon to be mandatory provision of a BER certification is a further unwelcome cost to the property owner. However, while the ECB looks certain to drop interest rates further in the earlier part of the New Year, this will compensate landlords to some degree.
