The average cost of renting a home in Ireland has moved past €1,000 a month nationally with rents up 7.1% in the first quarter of 2018, the latest figures to be published show.
Data from the State’s Residential Tenancy Board show that the cost of renting rose by €70 a month in March compared with a year earlier, taking the average rent to €1,060 while in Dublin rents are up €100 a month year on year to €1,500, some 16% higher than ever before.
Outside Dublin and its surrounding areas the cost of renting is now €794 per month and the SRTB report says that broader strong economic tailwinds, coupled with demand continue to put upward pressure on the private rental market.
A breakdown of the figures show that the average national rent for houses was €1,060 per month, up from €998 one year earlier, and for apartments it was €1,162, up from €1,081 per month in the first quarter of 2017.
That means that year on year rents for houses have increased by 6.2% in the first quarter of the year, marginally lower than the growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2017. Apartment rents increased by 7.5% on a year on year basis, some 2% more than in the last quarter of 2017.
The report explains that pressures in the Dublin rental market are fuelled by the buoyant economic performance of the capital city and the demand for residential accommodation close to employment, education and social amenities. However, while rental pressures are evident in Dublin, many of the surrounding counties are also facing increasing rents as supply pressures in the city lead to households choosing to commute.
It also points out that Dublin and its surrounding commuter counties are pushing up the cost of renting nationally, but Cork saw rents rise, as did Limerick. Indeed, the cost of renting has now gone above €1,000 a month in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath, Cork and Galway.
The figures show that rents in the greater Dublin area, excluding Dublin, decreased by 0.72% compared with the previous quarter, falling to €1,112. Outside Dublin and the greater Dublin area the standardised average new rent was €791, up just €1 on the previous quarter.
