Galway City rents edge up by just 1.5% on last year

The average monthly rents for all dwellings let in Galway City in the second quarter of this year rose marginally to €844.

That was up by just €12, or 1.5%, when compared to the prevailing average rent in the second quarter of last year, when the amount was €832 – the figures are for all properties registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).

Newcastle was shown as the most expensive part of the city to rent a house or apartment, at €1,032 on average – an increase of 9.5%, or €89 a month on the second quarter of 2013.

Next most expensive areas of the city and surrounding area were Woodquay (€942), Bohermore (€881), Wellpark (€855), Barna (€840), Roscam (€836), Salthill (€825) – the area with the smallest increase (1%) on last year – and Ballybane (€820).

At the lower end of the monthly rental market came Oranmore (€715), Doughiska (€730), Ballybrit (€739), Renmore (€752) and Knocknacarra (€806) and Rahoon (€807)

In terms of the kind of property rented, a three-bed semi-detached home in Galway city cost €789 a month on average, while average monthly rent for a two-bed apartment was €767.

Galway is the dearest city outside of Dublin in which to rent a home. Average monthly rents rose in Dublin by €50 or 4.8% (€1,101), in Limerick by 2.3% (€625) and in Cork by 0.8% (€825) and fell by 1.8% in Waterford (€536), compared with the same period last year.

The average rent for County Galway was €767, up by €10 on last year.

The findings are drawn from the PRTB’s Average Rent Dataset, which is part of a comprehensive Rent Index compiled for the board by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). They reflect the actual rents being paid, as distinct from the asking or advertised rent.

The average rent is based on rents registered with the PRTB for all dwelling types (houses and apartments; one, two or more rooms) – a more detailed area by area breakdown is available at www.prtb.ie.

On an annual basis nationally, rents were 5.2% higher than in Q2, 2013. Nationally, rents for houses were 3.7% higher, while apartment rents were 6.9% higher than in the same quarter of 2013.