Athlone has been included as one of 19 new locations deemed to be a rent pressure zone, it has been announced by the Government. A rent pressure zone is a designated area where rents cannot be increased by more than four percent per annum, applying to both new and existing tenancies.
First introduced in 2016 to curtail spiralling rents in the country’s major cities, rent pressure zones have since been extended with Athlone now prevalent on the listing.
The Department of Housing says the latest tranche of places means 65 percent of rented accommodation in the country is covered in this regard.
Meanwhile, the price of the average three-bed semi in County Westmeath increased 4.1 percent in the past year, according to a national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.
Westmeath prices were static at €190,000 over the past three months, the REA Average House Price Survey found.
The survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland’s typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an up-to-date picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide to the close of last week.
“Prices have stabilised, although there is still a shortage of properties. First time buyers are the main purchasers, with the investor market reducing with the time taken to reach sale agreed on an average three-bed semi remains seven weeks,” Donna Hynes of REA Hynes, Athlone, remarked.
