Rents rise to above boom-time peak in third quarter of 2017

Rents surpassed their boom-time peak in the third quarter of this year, moving 7 per cent above the previous high which was recorded almost a decade ago, the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) has said.

The rents paid by new tenants around the State rose between July and September to an average of €1,056 per month, up 9.5 per cent (from €965) in a 12-month period.

In Dublin, the average rent paid was €1,518 (up from €1,382 a year earlier) with the average in the greater Dublin area (Meath, Wicklow and Kildare) at €1,086 (up from €1,020 a year earlier).

Elsewhere, the average rent paid by new tenants was €811 (up from €743).

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The data comes from the Quarterly Rent Index compiled by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) for the Residential Tenancies Board.

The previous high, a national average rent of €988 per month, was recorded in the final quarter of 2007. Following the economic crash in 2008 rents went into decline and hit a low point in the RTB’s index of €746 a month in the first quarter of 2012.

Dublin prices

Rents in Dublin increased by 4.1 per cent during the third quarter of this year, up from 3.1 per cent in the previous three months and 9.9 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

The RTB, a Government agency responsible for registering tenancies and dealing with disputes between tenants and landlords, said a total of 29,528 new tenancies were registered between July and September. This represents an increase of over 6,000 registrations since the last quarter.

RTB director Rosalind Carroll said strong demographic and economic growth matched with low levels of supply are “continuing to put significant pressure on the private rental market and those trying to find a place to live”.

This is the third rent index report published since Rent Pressure Zones were introduced one year ago. Landlords renting properties in these designated areas are prevented from increasing prices by more than 4 per cent.

After a moderate slowdown in the pace of growth in the first quarter of this year, the pace increased between April and June and further took off between July and September.

The report’s authors said these findings reflected the unprecedented situation of continued low supply of properties and high demand in a volatile rental market.