News
Chronic shortage of houses pushes up prices
A chronic shortage of supply continues to be one of the biggest issues facing the residential property market in Galway, according to local auctioneers.
One agent said sales volumes have returned to the height of the property boom in 2007.
And increasing demand is continuing to drive up prices by as much as 75% – albeit from a low base – since the bottom of the market in some towns.
While in the city, 20 new homes on the western side of the city sold within hours of being launched.
Official Government statistics show that sales across Galway were up 21% this year (2,370 homes), while the total value of sales was up 30% – more than €400 million.
South Galway auctioneer Colm Farrell said shortage of supply continues to be the main problem with the market in the county.
“2015 was a good year, we sold a good bit of stuff, but now we’re at the point where we’re out of stock. There are only one or two houses left [for sale] in Gort itself and no new houses in the pipeline.
“There will be a couple of secondhand properties and a couple of bank repossessions coming up, but nowhere near enough to meet demand,” said Mr Farrell.
He said three-bed semis around Gort have gone from around €65,000 at the bottom of the market to around €110,000 to €115,000 (up 75%) at the moment, while four-bed semis have gone from €85,000 to €135,000 (almost 60%).
Ballinasloe and city-based estate agent John Dolan said his sales volumes had returned to levels similar to 2007.
“Prices in Ballinasloe would be up around 15% to 20%, but that’s from a very low base. Sales volumes are back at 2007, but the prices are obviously much lower.
“Anything up to about €100,000 will attract plenty of buyers, but there’s a lack of supply at the moment.
“A three-bed semi (in Ballinasloe) would have cost between €65,000 and €90,000 – they’re now selling for €80,000 to €110,000. Four-bed semis were €80,000 to €100,000 – they’re now selling for €100,000 to €120,000,” said Mr Dolan.
He said most properties now sell within four to six weeks of going on the market, while five years ago, they would have taken around six months to sell.
“Supply is the biggest problem for 2016. Builders need to be able to make a profit, and they just can’t do that at the moment. There are no schemes in Ballinasloe, while there are a few being finished in Loughrea. There will be some increases in prices in 2016, but not as dramatic as this year. It the basic economics of supply,” said Mr Dolan.
North Galway auctioneer Gerry Coffey agreed there is a shortage of stock available.
“We can see an improvement in the economy, property prices have bottomed out and we now have a shortage of good quality rural properties at realistic prices.
“You can buy a house now for substantially less than it would cost to build, in fact, we have a shortage of stock of houses on our books at present.”
He said that first-time buyers returned to the market in great numbers in 2015, and UK buyers were also in evidence.
Colm Farrell said he is seeing an increasing level of young buyers with mortgage approval, but believes this is down to people getting back to work, rather than banks ‘loosening’ lending criteria.
“More people are out looking for property and have mortgage approval up to €130,000 to €140,000, anything above that and young couples would be struggling.
“There are loads of buyers with mortgage approval, there’s more employment, but bank lending criteria is the same,” he said.
Mr Farrell added that with the shortage of stock for sale, any “nice property” that comes up for sale will usually have two or three bidders.
“Prices have definitely risen and the market is performing very strongly at the moment. My advice to buyers is tread carefully, and don’t overpay for property. Nobody knows that can happen down the line,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the city, Niall Browne of O’Donnellan & Joyce Auctioneers said that with only one new development coming on stream, prices are rising.
Maoilín, a development in Knocknacarra saw its first phase of 13 homes sell out in a week. When Phase 2 (20 homes) was launched, it sold in just hours.
“There were 242 people registered on the list for those homes, Phase 3 will be launched soon,” he said.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
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.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
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.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
