The average price differences between mortgage costs and rent costs are widening further than ever.
Daft.ie have released their quarterly report findings for the end of 2019, and discovered that rent prices fell by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2019. This marks the first time that rent prices have not risen quarter-on-quarter since mid-2012.
Additionally, the report found that Dublin rent prices are up 3.5% when compared to the same time in 2018, marking the lowest rate of increase in prices since 2008.
However, as the national average monthly rent is now €1,402, which stands a full €659 per month higher than the most-recent low, seen in late 2011, and it proves that the renting market is still an expensive place to be.
The report also revealed the ever-widening cost gap between mortgage payers and rent payers:
The average rents around the country, and year-on-year change, for the fourth quarter of 2019 is as follows:
- Dublin: €2,052, up 3.5%
- Cork: €1,386, up 5.5%
- Galway: €1,309, up 5.6%
- Limerick: €1,217, up 3.9%
- Waterford: €1,010, up 4.3%
- Rest of the country: €993, up 4.6%
Ronan Lyons, an economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft Report, had the following to say about the findings:
“With the election of a new government, housing – and in particular the rental sector – are likely to be key parts of the new government’s priorities. Despite the desire for a quick fix, such as rent freezes, no such quick fix exists. By worsening insider-outsider dynamics, rent freezes are likely to further harm those most affected by the shortage of accommodation.
“And, if somehow applied to newly-built rental homes, rent controls could prove calamitous for a country that desperately needs new rental homes but has very high construction costs.”
The full report can be found here.
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