The average rent for all dwellings in the private rented sector in Westmeath in the second quarter of 2016, which were registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB ), was €608.
This was up €10 when compared to the average rent in the first quarter of this year when the amount was €598, and was up €54 when compared to the second quarter of 2015.
Nationally, rents were 9.9 per cent higher than in the second quarter of 2015 - up from €869 to €956. Rents for houses were 9.3 per cent higher, up from €850 to €929, while apartment rents were 11.7 per cent higher - up from €908 to €1,014.
Annual growth in the Dublin market was also strong, up by 9 per cent. Dublin house rents were up by 7.5 per cent and Dublin apartment rents were higher by 9.8 per cent.
Annual growth in rents for the market outside Dublin recorded increases of 10.6 per cent when compared to the second quarter of 2015. Again, the performance differed by property type. Monthly rent for houses outside Dublin increased by 9.9 per cent, while apartments outside Dublin experienced an increase of 12.7 per cent.
Director of the RTB, Rosalind Carroll, said: “While the previous two quarters have shown a slowdown in the rate of increase in rents, the Q2 2016 results show the rate of growth in rents increasing again, particularly in the Dublin market. Adding to the underlying supply and demand imbalance is the return of net inward migration as confirmed by the Central Statistics Office last month (+3,100 ) for the first time since 2009.”
Ms Carroll said the RTB now has a total of 323,271 tenancies registered, representing 172,121 landlords and 704,332 occupants: “The trend in new tenancy registrations also reflects the supply shortage. Annual tenancy registrations peaked in 2013, with nearly 112,000 tenancies registered in that year, but that has dipped consecutively in 2014 and 2015, while our overall numbers of registered tenancies have increased. This suggests that tenants are staying longer in their properties.”
For more information visit www.rtb.ie
