The cost of renting a home in Dublin climbed by more than €1,200 last year – over four times more than the rate of increase recorded elsewhere in the State, according to new figures from the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).
The figures put the jump in rents across Dublin at marginally under 10 per cent, or €104 per month. The annual rate of growth for homes outside of the capital was just 3.9 per cent, or €24 a month.
Dublin house rents were up 7 per cent, from €1,216 to €1,301, while Dublin apartment rents climbed by 10.9 per cent, from €1,051 to €1,166.
As in Dublin, the annual growth for the market outside Dublin differed by property type. Rent for houses outside the capital climbed by 4.4 per cent, from €639 to €667, while apartments outside Dublin experienced an increase of 2.9 per cent, up from €595 to €612.
Price movements
Looking at the actual price movements over the final three months of 2014, rents rose slightly in Dublin, notably in the apartment sector. Outside Dublin, rents declined.
However, the level of rent increase in Dublin, given the size of the city market, meant that when trends for the whole country were measured, there was a slight overall increase in rents, up by 0.6 per cent, when compared with the third quarter of 2014.
While rents for houses in Dublin increased by 0.4 per cent, the cost of renting an apartment climbed by 2.4 per cent over the preceding three months.
For properties outside Dublin, rents in the fourth quarter were down 0.3 per cent, with the cost of renting a house down 0.7 per cent and apartment off 0.4 per cent.
Peak rents
The index shows that, nationally, rents peaked in the fourth quarter of 2007 before declining by 26 per cent to their lowest point, which was recorded in the first quarter of 2012. By the end of last year, rents nationally were 17.8 per cent lower than their peak.
While the peak-to-trough in the Dublin market was similar to that experienced nationally, the strength of the recovery in Dublin means that rents are just 9 per cent lower than their highest point.
The data comes from the PRTB’s Quarterly Rent Index, which is compiled by the Economic and Social Research Institute for the PRTB.
It is the most accurate and authoritative rent report of its kind on the private accommodation sector in Ireland. This is because it is based on the actual rents being paid, according to the PRTB's records, as distinct from the asking or advertised rent.
