By Brendan Carroll

Galway City rents have increased by more than one-tenth in the past year — reaching an high of almost €2,200 per month on average.

The latest Daft.ie Rental Price Report for the third quarter of 2024 shows that city rental prices have risen by a further 3.5% between July and September, compared with a more modest increase of 1.7% nationally.

The average open-market rent in Galway City now compared with the same time last year, at 10.5%, is also more than three points higher than elsewhere.

By the end of September, renters were paying out an average of €2,189 in the city — a huge jump of 63% on pre-Covid rates, or almost €850 a month.

While rental prices in County have increased by 70% in that period, they are still well below the city level, with average rents of €1,567 now … a slight drop over the three months but a rise of 8% in the past year.

The biggest jump in rents — more than 20% since Q3 of 2023 — has been for five-bedroomed city houses, which now command a monthly outlay of €2,786.

Other rental averages now (with the difference since the same time last year in brackets) are: one-bed apartment: €1,350 +11.8%, two-bed apartment €1,608 +10.1%; three-bed house €1,906 +5.6%; four-bed house €2,399 +6.5%.

An indication of the huge demand for places to rent is the massive jump in what people can expect to pay for a double bedroom in a property.

In Galway City centre, the cost has risen by 30% in the past year alone to €708 per month, and by 40% in the suburbs, to €677.

A single bedroom costs €640 on average to rent in the city centre, and €602 in the suburbs, both representing a year-on-year rise of about 9%.

It will come as no surprise to those forking out so much on rent that paying off a mortgage on a similar property would cost them considerably less.

For instance, the average rent on a three-bedroom house in Galway City is now €1,906 — but, according to the Daft.ie report, a 30-year mortgage on the same property would cost €1,050 a month.

Other examples given in the report are: 1-bed apartment — €1,350 rent, €526 mortgage; 2-bed apartment €1,608 rent, €735 mortgage; 4-bed house  €2,399 rent, €1,814 mortgage; 5-bed house €2,786 rent, €2,165 mortgage.

Commenting on the findings, Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin said that the target for the new government must be to give the same priority to the rental sector that has been given to owner-occupiers and to social housing over the past few years.

“Otherwise, it’s hard to see when conditions will change,” he added.

He warned that after 18 months of improving availability, the number of homes available to rent on the open market was falling.

“On November 1st, there were just over 2,400 homes available to rent across the country, down 14% on the same date a year previously and well below the 2015-2019 average of almost 4,400,” said Prof Lyons.