Rents rise by almost 5% in third quarter

Rents around the country rose in the third quarter of 2015, new data has shown, with the average property rising by 4.91 per cent.

The report, compiled by First Citizen Asset Management from statistics from the Irish Private Residential Tenancies Board, showed monthly rents for proprties in Dublin were now at an average of € 1,221, with the most expensive location in the Dublin 4 area.

Apartment rental values rose by an average of 11.34 per cent for the county. That outstripped the national average, which showed an increase of 6.14 per cent, and a 5.59 per cent rise for apartments outside the Dublin and commuter belt region.

The counties surrounding the capital showed a strong rise, with Kildare up 7.79 per cent for all properties, Meath increasing by 9.36 per cent and Laois up 8.61 per cent

The only one to buck the trend was Sligo, where average rents fell by 1.09 per cent, and apartment rents fell by 6.3 per cent. House rents were up 0.68 per cent.

Despite the rise, however, the report showed rentals were still more than 18 per cent lower than during the property boom in the fourth quarter of 2007. Kerry and Limerick showed the strongest recovery, with rents only down 8.44 per cent and 9.52 per cent respectively compared to the 2007 peak, but Longford, Clare and Roscommon were among the counties showing the weakest level of recovery.