Average rents in Galway city were up 12.6% in the last year – the third highest hike in the country.

The latest quarterly Daft.ie report for the first three months of the year shows that rents in County Galway rose by 5.7% to €1,659 – and in the city by a whopping 12.6% where renters now have to fork out an average of €2,304 for somewhere to live.

That’s higher than the national average rent of €2,023, which is the first time ever the property website has recorded rental above €2,000.

In Galway City, it’s costing an average €1,430 to rent a one-bed flat, up 14.3% in a year, €1,736 for a two-bed (+13.9%), €2,104 for a three-bed (+14.8%), €2,467 for a four-bed (+ 5.1%) and €3,139 for a five bed (+41.1%).

In County Galway, the hikes were nowhere near as severe – €1,005 for a one-bed (+4.2%), €1,170 (+0.2%) for a two-bed, €1,374 for a three-bed (+1.8%), €1,500 (-0.8%) for a four-bed and €1,651 (+4.1%) for a five-bed.

The increases apply only to new tenants in the city as sitting tenants have their rent price-controlled because of rent pressure zones.

It is now costing €743 a month to rent a double bedroom in Galway – up 37% compared to a year ago.

The average city rent of €2,304 was up 4.8% compared to the last quarter and a staggering 71% hike since before Covid. In the county the average rent of €1,659 was up 3% on the last quarter and a shocking 80% higher than pre-pandemic times.

Across the Connacht Ulster region availability was down 35% compared to May 2024.

Gross annual yields for landlords of one and two-beds in Galway city was over 11% and the highest of anywhere in the country. County Galway was marginally behind at over 10%.

The author of the report, Trinity College Dublin associate professor of economics Ronan Lyons, said the average open market rent nationally exceeded €2,000 a month for the first time, up from below €1,400 a month just five years ago.

“The sustained increases in rents in the open market are being driven by an acute and worsening shortage of rental housing.”

At €2,540 Dublin has the highest average rents, with prices for the capital increasing by 5.8% in the year to March. Average rents in Limerick city jumped by 20% to €2,405 while Cork went up by 13.6% to €2,213.

There were just over 2,300 homes available to rent across the country on the Daft.ie portal at the beginning of May, down 14% in a year and the third lowest total in May in 20 years.

Sinn Féin TD for Galway East, Louis O’Hara, has called for a ban on rent increases in the private rental sector in the wake of the figures.

“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,” he stressed.

“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.”