There are new signs this week that the local rental market is beginning to stabilise, with the news that Westmeath rents fell by just half a per cent in the first quarter of 2010.
According to the latest report from property website Daft.ie, the average monthly rent paid by Westmeath tenants now stands at €560.
The Daft Rental Report for quarter 4 2010, released this week, also indicates that rental rates in Westmeath remain slightly higher than in the wider West Leinster region. Average monthly rents for the region stand at €530, a figure that is 1.5 per cent lower than the previous quarter and 11.9 per cent below the 2009 figure.
The figure represents a massive 23.4 per cent drop in the region since rents peaked three years ago.
On average in West Leinster, rent on a three-bed residence now costs €606 per month, a figure that is undercut only in Ulster. In contrast, the same property in Dublin 4 would cost €1,765, in Galway City €861, in South East Leinster €655, and in Connaught €636.
Nationwide, the Daft report shows that rents fell by just under half a per cent in the first quarter of 2010, with the average rent nationwide now standing at just under €760. The total decline from peak levels in 2007 is estimated at 25 per cent in the report.
Ronan Lyons, economist at Daft.ie, says the signs from the rental market so far in 2010 point to a market starting to stabilise.
“Nonetheless, conditions remain fragile, particularly outside Dublin. The total stock available to rent has been very high since late 2008 and, after falling back in the second half of 2009, has started rising again,” he said.
Commenting on the report, finance journalist Jill Kerby said: “The latest quarterly Daft.ie rental figures clearly show that this is still a renter’s market, and that this isn’t going to change so long as supply outpaces demand.
“Landlords with weak hearts should desist from looking at Daft’s estimate of the size of the fall since the 2007 rental peak,” she added.
