Revealed: How Mayo's property market is divided against itself
"This county still accounts for 14.1% of all derelict buildings in the country, a statistic so outrageous it barely needs embellishment"
Another quarter has passed, and another GeoDirectory report has landed, providing yet another snapshot of the Irish housing market, and once again, Mayo finds itself both predictable and puzzling.
The predictable part is dereliction. Mayo still accounts for 14.1% of all derelict buildings in the country, a statistic so outrageous it barely needs embellishment.
It is now almost accepted as a feature of the landscape, like a winter snow cap on Nephin or potholes on LIS roads.
The issue was raised in the Dáil by Aontú Deputy Paul Lawless recently, drawing a sharp response from Tánaiste Simon Harris, who lambasted local authorities for their failure to collect money from absentee property owners and pointed to dereliction of duty as one reason the government intends to shift collection of the levy to Revenue.
However, beyond dereliction, the more revealing story in GeoDirectory’s data is what it says about property demand and inequality across Mayo and how one corner of the county continues to distort the overall picture.
Mayo’s average house price is now €245,034, making it the sixth cheapest property market in Ireland.
But even that figure masks the reality on the ground. Strip away the Westport effect, and Mayo’s average would look far less impressive.
Westport is not simply the jewel in the crown; it is the unicorn market, the outlier that inflates Mayo’s overall numbers and gives a misleading sense of prosperity.
The breakdown of transactions from 12 months to November 2025 and prices by Eircode tells the story clearly:
Westport (F28) recorded 195 transactions with an average price of €330,769.
Castlebar (F23) recorded 182 transactions with an average price of €285,165.
Ballina (F26) recorded 326 transactions with an average price of €214,724.
Claremorris (F12) recorded 241 transactions with an average price of €214,938.
Ballinrobe (F31) recorded 58 transactions with an average price of €206,897.
Ballyhaunis (F35) recorded 66 transactions with an average price of €178,788.
In plain terms, Mayo is operating as two separate markets.
The affluent west, led by Westport, continues to surge. Castlebar, long seen as “just the county town”, is increasingly priced like it is attracting new-build growth.
Meanwhile, large parts of east and south Mayo remain at the value end of the market, attracting buyers precisely because they are cheaper, though the likelihood is that this affordability is running out of road.
Westport remains the most obvious symbol of the divide. An average price of over €330,000 is far beyond the reach of many working people in Mayo. It is driven by demand that is not purely local: lifestyle buyers, commuters, retirees, holiday home demand and the wider pull of the tourism economy.
That demand may be good for estate agents and the local tax base, but it creates an uncomfortable reality for younger families.
Castlebar’s performance is also telling.
With an average price of €285,165 and the highest proportion of new builds in the county at 13.2%, it is clearly benefiting from being the county’s service hub and a regional provincial centre.
Ballina is perhaps the most curious figure in the report. It recorded the highest number of transactions in Mayo, with 326, which suggests a strong level of demand. But the percentage of new builds is low, at just 5.2%, raising concerns about long-term supply.
There is also a cautionary note needed with Ballina’s postal district, which is one of the largest in the country. It stretches across north Mayo from the coast inland, effectively capturing communities from Blacksod to Easkey. That explains the large volume, and it does prove that north Mayo is active, but the area is not building enough to keep pace with demand.
Local authority plans for over 100 homes to break ground in spring are welcome, but private development remains thin on the ground. Without more private building, north Mayo risks being left permanently in the shadow of the west of the county.
Moving to the east and south, Ballyhaunis remains the cheapest market in the county and the only one still under €200,000. That affordability is clearly attracting demand, with 66 transactions, but it raises the question of whether Ballyhaunis is simply lagging behind the rest of Mayo or whether it is the next area that will inevitably “catch up” as buyers are pushed out of more expensive markets.
The warning signs are already being sounded by those closest to the market. Joe Moran of Moran Auctioneers says the reduction in available stock is “very clear”, and that demand remains strong, but lack of choice is driving frustration and competition for quality homes.
He also notes a worrying trend: the growing number of notices being served to tenants ahead of tenancy-related legislative changes due in March. While every case is different, the effect is the same: more pressure on renters and fewer properties available.
Claire Flannelly of Flannelly Auctioneers points to the underlying driver of all of this: Mayo’s population growth has not been matched by housebuilding. Mayo had a population of 130,638 in 2011 and is now estimated to be between 142,000 and 144,500. Yet the private and public building pipeline has not kept pace, leaving both the sales and rental markets under strain.
Mayo is no different from elsewhere in the country; the housing crisis encompasses, but is more extensive than, homelessness or social housing lists. It is about a growing economic divide between those who can compete and those who cannot. Between the west and the rest. Between renters and owners. Between people with family support and people without it.
What all of this means politically has already borne fruit: two out of the five TDs in this constituency are from the lowest-priced areas on the periphery of the county. With even more locked out, will they gain an even stronger foothold and find a political silver lining in the housing disaster's dark skies?