Rents at highest point ever

NORTHSIDE rents are now more expensive than ever before according to the latest quarterly report from property website Daft.ie.

In the North City, rents are up 11.5 per cent since last year while in the North County the increase is 11.7 per cent. The West County area, which includes Blanchardstown, saw rent increases of 12.5 per cent and in the city centre, they’re up by 10 per cent.

The average rent nationwide has risen by 39.7 per cent since the market bottomed out in late 2011, and it has now exceeded its 2008 peak.

In Dublin, rents are now an average of 5.2 per cent above their previous peak while in Cork and Galway cities, rents are four per cent and 10 per cent above levels recorded eight years ago.

In Dublin City, the annual rate of inflation in rents, in the year to June 2016, was 11.1 per cent, its highest since late 2014.

In the rest of Dublin, rents were on average 11.1 per cent higher in the second quarter of 2016 than a year previously. The average advertised rent is now €1,520, up 51 per cent from their lowest point in 2011.

The increases are putting pressure on students, tens of thousands of whom are now looking for accomadation as the academic year begins.

“Ahead of a new academic year, the latest figures highlight the severe shortage of accommodation for students,” said Ronan Lyons, economist at TCD and author of the Daft Report,

“While a large number of purpose-built student apartments are either being built or are planned, these will take time to come on stream and will only cater for those on higher incomes.

“The majority of students will face tough choices about where to study and where to live.”

There were just over 1,400 Dublin homes available to rent on August 1, down nearly 350 on the same date a year earlier.

There was also a strong rise in the cost of renting a room, with double rooms between six per cent and 12 per cent more expensive than a year ago on average.

In Dublin City Centre the room rental increase is 15.7 per cent for a single bed, which costs an average of €588 a month. In North Dublin City a single bed costs €463 and in North County Dublin it’s €414.