Skyrocketing house prices in County Galway have paradoxically offered a small chink of light to those hoping to secure an ‘affordable home’.

County Councillors were told this week that rising prices on the private market had opened up the possibility of rolling out affordable housing schemes in previously ‘unviable’ county towns – as the gap between construction costs and sale prices widens.

This comes as the latest Daft House Price Report shows the prices of homes county have shot up by just shy of 14% in the space of a year – while city prices are up by 12.5% in the same period.

The average home in Galway City now costs just under €430,000, while in the county, the average price has hit almost €320,000.

Sinn Féin TD for Galway West, Mairéad Farrell said these conditions were leading to a collapse of home ownership among the under forties who were condemned to the equally unaffordable rental market.

“It’s like being stuck in a hamster wheel where they are constantly forced to run faster and faster, and rents continue to rise,” said Deputy Farrell.

Caption: Huge demand…an artist’s impression of the completed Garraí Na Gaoithe development in Claregalway, with its affordable homes.

Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.