Newly-released Government statistics have shown “bizarre” increases of almost 10% in house prices in Galway since the end of last year.

According to the latest Quarterly Housing Statistics from the Department of the Environment, the average price of a secondhand house in Galway in the first quarter of this year stood at €356,430, up from €324,968 (or 9.68%) in the last quarter of 2007.

They buck the trend of national figures, where the average price of a new house nationally was €311,113 in the first quarter, down by 3.1% on the average price in the same quarter in 2007. For a secondhand house, the average was €359,277 in the first quarter 2008, down by 5.4% on the previous year.

The figures have been questioned by local estate agents, one of whom described the increase as “bizarre”. The secondhand prices .......