The cost of renting in Westmeath was 9.5 per cent higher in the third quarter of this year than a year previously, according to the latest quarterly Rental Report by Daft.ie
The average advertised rent is now €643, up 22 per cent from its lowest point in 2013. Nationally, rents rose by an average of 3.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2015, the largest three-month increase since early 2007.
The news comes ahead of Government measures to limit rising rent costs. The national average rent between July and September was €964, compared to €882 a year previously. Annual inflation in rents now stands at 9.3 per cent nationwide and, for the second quarter in a row, is being driven by trends outside the capital.
In Dublin, annual inflation in rents is 8.9 per cent, down from 15 per cent in mid-2014. Outside Dublin, inflation in rents stands at 9.7 per cent, up from 5 per cent in mid-2014. The highest rates of inflation are in the cities outside Dublin, with rents 13.5 per cent higher than a year ago in Cork City and 12.2 per cent higher in Galway city. In Limerick and Waterford cities, inflation stands at 11.4 per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively.
In the Midlands counties of Laois, Offaly, and Longford, rents rose by an average of 8.2 per cent in the year to September 2015, compared to a rise of 7.6 per cent a year previously.
Supply on the market is at its tightest on record, with just a little more than 4,000 properties available to rent nationwide on November 1. While supply has been very tight in Dublin since early 2013, other parts of the country are now seeing dramatic falls.
Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, economist at TCD and author of the Daft Report, said: “The latest Rental Report suggests that the market reacted to talk of rental controls, with for example rents rising by 7 per cent in Cork in three months and by 6 per cent in Galway, by far the largest three-month increases seen in a series that extends back 10 years.
“Ultimately, while controls on rent increases may help those at risk of becoming homeless, they do nothing to help those already homeless. The much more pressing issue that needs to be addressed is the lack of supply, which ultimately depends on the cost of construction.”
The full report is available from www.daft.ie/report and includes a commentary by Ronan Lyons as well as an analysis of affordability and statistics on residential yields around the country.
