Some sold homes last year and can cover the cost of renting with interest on money from the sale; others enjoy living in a house they couldn't afford to buy, writes PAMELA DUNCAN

SOME PEOPLE have sold their home and are waiting for prices to fall further before they buy again. Some are enjoying renting a house they couldn’t afford to buy and tempted to make the holiday from home ownership permanent. Others are delighted they didn’t heed the warning to get on the property ladder.

They’re all people for whom renting is the new buying. Estate agents across Dublin are reporting an increasing number of former owners who have closed the door on home ownership, at least temporarily. And it appears that some are very happy to do so.

“I feel like we’ve won the lottery,” says former homeowner and now renter Clare White. “We are living in an area where we want to live; we have a house which is much bigger than we could ever afford to buy with three super big double rooms which is suited perfectly to our requirements.”

White and her family were living in a two-bed house near Leonard’s Corner in Dublin 8 when they decided to sell in 2007. They sold in June 2008 before rethinking a planned move to Cork. They didn’t feel it was the right time to buy and suddenly rental was on the radar.

“We now live in a very nice three-bedroom house well over twice the size of our old place,” White says. “The rent is the same amount as the mortgage we paid on our old house when we were on a great rate as first-time buyers. We now have some flexibility in our lives.”

White is an architect and her husband is self-employed but even in the current climate, the couple are secure in the knowledge that, if either of their incomes were affected, they can simply move to a cheaper rental.

And while there are some downsides – “You can’t put nails up on the wall so there are restrictions” – the family is happy. “It’s absolutely lovely on most levels,” White says. “While I wouldn’t see renting as a long-term commitment, if we have to do it for two to three years then I’d be quite happy to do so.”

Another former homeowner, who did not wish to be named, sold his property last year after 25 years and is now renting through Mannion Auctioneers. With the market still dropping he has enjoyed major financial benefits: having rented for a year, he and his wife now find themselves earning more interest on the money made from the sale than they are paying in rent. What’s more, the house, which they sold for €715,000 last year, has now depreciated by around €80,000. So, on paper, they are clearing a profit. “It’s actually paid us to be renting someone else’s home while it’s falling in value and we’re earning a premium on our interest,” the self-employed consultant says.

To avail of cheaper rents, the couple, whose family are now grown, are planning on moving to a smaller property in Glenageary where they are happy to wait to buy a home again when they feel the market has hit bottom. “We still feel that the market will fall further. Now in our second year renting, we feel a lot less nervous that the market will hit bottom and start rising again any time soon. But I don’t think we’re going to miss the market,” he says.

Felicity Fox Estate Agents has seen a “phenomenal” increase in the number of former owners who are now renting properties and has dealt with six such cases in the past six months. “People are treating it as a temporary thing – nearly like a holiday,” Fox says. “It’s a break from the responsibility of falling house prices and the worry of home ownership.” Many have also recognised that renting means they can afford to live in the “top class address” they’ve always wanted, with more space than they could ever expect if they were buying.

While many renters haven’t closed the door on home ownership, the idea that they “must” own their own property is abating. And it’s not just former owners who are jumping on the rental bandwagon. Would-be buyers who were planning to take their first steps up the property ladder are also holding back.

Jason Berry, a markets trader and business owner from California, moved to Ireland 10 years ago. As time went on, the pressure to buy property increased. “Everyone was telling me buy, buy, buy,” he says. But, when he compared prices in Dublin to other capital cities it became apparent just how little he would get for his money. “I just couldn’t bring myself to buy.”

While he waits for the market to change Berry is more than happy to rent. “Initially it was because I wanted to live in the centre of town and not out in suburbia,” Berry says, but adds that other advantages quickly surfaced.

He now occupies a penthouse apartment over three floors in the Alto Vetro building at Grand Canal Dock enjoying panoramic views of the city from his rooftop garden. “For me it’s peace of mind and ultimate irresponsibility. I don’t have to do anything.” Berry questions whether rent money is wasted money. “I just don’t have that pain of having to own my own place,” he says. “Am I throwing my money away? No, you’re throwing your money away giving it to the bank for the next 40 years. That sounds like a noose around my neck.”