Just €40,000 for a one-bed apartment in Galway city

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

One-bedroom apartments in Galway City can be picked up for as little as €40,000 – a drop of more than 80% since the height of the property boom, according to a new survey.

And three-bed semi-detached properties – traditionally seen as the ‘staple diet’ of first-time buyers – have seen almost 25% wiped off their value in the last twelve months.

The report shows that the average price drop in Galway City is just under 18%, while local auctioneers have predicted a further drop of up to 10% for this year.

According to the Sunday Times Price Guide 2012, prices on the east side of the city are down 17% over the past year; Salthill/Taylor’s Hill down 17%; Knocknacarra down 25% and Newcastle/Dangan down 20%.

On the eastern side of the city, the report shows that secondhand one-bed apartments are selling for around €40,000. That’s down from around €210,000 at the height of the boom in 2007, representing a drop of 81%.

The report, which relied on figures supplied by O’Donnellan & Joyce Auctioneers said that sales have been slow in Newcastle and Dangan – traditionally an active market because of the proximity to NUI Galway and University Hospital Galway.

“[Investors] have been hampered by lack of finance and their withdrawal from the market has affected all prices,” the report says.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel