Relief for renters; Rents are falling in Dublin

Last updated Nov 10, 2020

DUBLIN: Relief news for renters struggling with COVID distress and high rents; rents are decreasing. According to the latest survey by property site Daft.ie, sky-high rents during the COVID-19 pandemic are falling.

According to Daft.ie, rents in Dublin city center fell 2.3% in the third quarter of this year. At the same time, the survey reveals that rents are rising overall in the country due to disruption in the supply of residential units. In the three months leading up to the end of September, rents were up 1.2% from the previous year. Rents have been rising for 33 consecutive quarters.

The high availability of housing is thought to have contributed to the decline in rents in Dublin. Rents in Dublin fell 0.8% in the third quarter compared to the previous year. According to Daft.ie, this is the first drop since mid – 2011. “In Dublin, however, availability has doubled in the last year – and with it, rental inflation has come to an end,” said Ronan Lyons, assistant professor in economics in Trinity College.

But Daft.ie says this is only a temporary relief. It also warns that housing shortages will worsen in the future. Only about 35,000 rental homes are currently either in construction or on the plans – and almost all of those are in Dublin,” Mr. Lyons said.

As on November 1, 4,150 houses were available for rent across the country. This was 16% more than the previous year. Of these, more than 2,700 homes were in Dublin. This is the highest number in the capital since 2011. There were just 448 homes available to rent outside Dublin in Leinster.

The average rent in Dublin City Center for the third quarter was 2, 2,035 per month. At the same time, the average monthly rent across the country was 1, 1,419.

The stock of rental homes in most parts of the country is equivalent to January 2006.

Meanwhile, rents continue to rise in other cities. In Cork city, rents rose 5.2% in the third quarter. In Galway city, it was 4.9% higher than the previous year. In Limerick, rents rose 3.4%. The biggest increase in rents in the third quarter was in Carlow (6.8%). Offaly is in second place (6.5%). The lowest rent is in Monaghan, down by 3.2%.