Renting: financial folly - or sensible lifestyle choice?

There have never been more apartments to rent - so why not do it long-term? Alanna Gallagher talks to people in no rush to climb the property ladder

WHY RENT? To the traditional Irish mindset, it is financial folly to throw your money away month after month when you could be putting it towards a mortgage on your own home. "Dead money" is another word for rent in a country with one of the highest home ownership levels in Europe.

However, with the average cost of a home in Dublin now heading towards €400,000, and a new generation of investors providing more than adequate rental accommodation throughout Dublin, long-term renting is becoming a reality in the capital.

The stability evident in the rental market over the last two years seems likely to continue, with more and more investment properties coming on stream. Landlords are having to provide well-fitted accommodation to hold on to their tenants in a market with plenty of options.

"Tenants are now getting better value for their money and a better quality of rented accommodation than they would have got 10 years ago,"" says Katherina Cahill, director of Homelocators.

Not everyone is convinced. "A one-bed apartment can cost in the region of €1,000 a month in rent," says Jeff Tucker, economist with Hooke and MacDonald. "A mortgage for the same property won't cost you much more so it makes sense to buy. The deal-breaker is the down payment required but 100 per cent mortgages and other loan products have opened up accessibility to home ownership."

Eamonn Farrell, director of Daft.ie, would also urge people to buy, even if they've been priced out of the Dublin market. "One approach is to invest in a place outside the city limits, while choosing to continue renting in the city. This is the best of both worlds," says Farrell.

To rent or not to rent, is a thorny question. "The Irish have a funny attitude to renting. For the majority, paying rent is physically painful," says John McGuire, MD of First Credit and presenter of RTÉ's I'm An Adult Get Me Out Of Here. "But in a lot of circumstances paying rent makes perfect sense. You get to choose the location you want to live in. Paying rent is a lifestyle choice and one that should be respected. There is a prevailing attitude in Ireland, which is, buy or face the box room in your parents' house. But there is a happy medium, for anyone who'd prefer to continue renting for the medium term.

"Rent, start living and exploring your life but at the same time cover all options by putting your name down for one of the Affordable Housing Schemes on offer from city corporations and county councils. If and when your number comes up on their waiting list, you can then decide whether you want to make the move to a mortgage or not."