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Irish Independent

‘Difficult and frustrating' – Galway's rental market sees sharp rise in average prices

According to the latest report, rents in Galway City have risen by 12.6pc in the last year. This made Galway the third most expensive city in Ireland in terms of rent market as it only follows Limerick City (with an average of €2,405, up 20.4pc) and Dublin (with an average of €2,540, up 5.8pc). In the rest of Galway, market rents were on average 5.7pc higher in the first quarter of 2025 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €1,659, up 80pc from the level prevailing when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred. Tony Kavanagh, Regional Director at real estate agency Sherry FitzGerald, explained to the Irish Independent the price increase is due to new contracts, as the city is within a rent pressure zone. He added the property shortage not only makes prices skyrocket, but also result in extreme frustration for many Mr Kavanagh said: 'There is a shortage of supply of those new properties coming available and there is a very big demand for rental properties, so it pushes those prices up very high. 'Tenants are very frustrated. Any rental property that we might put up, we get a lot of applications for it and there's only a few people that can ultimately get that accommodation. People are often putting in applications for a number of properties but because there is such stiff competition and such demand, it's hard to be successful. Obviously that is very frustrating.' Mr Kavanagh confirmed the only solution is building more properties, but in the short term he foresaw a 'difficult and frustrating' future for anyone looking to rent in the city. 'It's a very simple answer: we need more new homes being built. Every type of property, from one, two, three bed apartments, one, two, three bedroom houses, we need more of them built. And until then, it is going to be a difficult market for tenants. It is going to be difficult and frustrating. He added estate agencies do not like seeing the prices increasing either, as the incredibly high rents have consequences on the local economy as well. ADVERTISEMENT 'We people involved in the industry don't want to see the rents so high because it makes it very hard to be able to save if they want to buy their own property, it's difficult for employers when they try to attract talent to come and work in their businesses, it just makes everything dearer and the economy ultimately becomes uncompetitive because a lot of people who might be considering moving and when they look at the costs of accommodation they might make the decision not to move to a location like Galway. 'The economy in general is doing very well, the Irish economy is nearly at full employment so most people who are capable and who wish to work have the opportunity to work, that means that there is a lot of people that want and need accommodation. 'It's a problem for tenants, for people who are looking to get accommodation, but also it has a knock-on effect to the broader local economy. In the meantime, Louis O'Hara, Sinn Féin TD for Galway East, has called for a ban on rent increase in the private rental sector. He said: "I'm constantly being contacted by people struggling to afford the cost of rent and many are being pushed into homelessness as a result. 'The spiralling cost of rent is a direct consequence of government's failure to deliver a sufficient volume of social, affordable rental and affordable purchase homes. The consequence is too many people are being forced into a shrinking private rental sector. 'Government must recognise that its failing housing plan is the cause of the problem. They must increase and accelerate the delivery of social and affordable homes to at least 25,000 new public homes a year. 'In the meantime, renters need a break. Government must introduce an emergency three-year ban on rent increases and put a full month's rent back into every private tenant's pocket through a fully refundable tax credit,' he added. The report also shows that across Connacht, market rents rose 5.7pc year-on-year, down from 15.6pc a year ago. The ongoing increase in rents reflects very tight availability, with fewer than 140 homes available to rent on May 1, down over one third year-on-year and just one quarter of the late 2010s average. Nationally, market rents rose by an average of 3.4pc in the first three months of 2025, one of the largest three-month increases in the last two decades. The average open-market rent nationwide in the first quarter of 2025 was €2,053 per month, up from a low of just €765 in 2011 and 48pc higher than before the outbreak of Covid-19. There were just over 2,300 homes available to rent nationwide on May 1, down 14pc year-on-year. This is the third lowest total for May in twenty years and close to half the 2015-2019 average for availability of homes to rent.