Rents in Ireland?

I am wondering if its allowed to discuss general level of rents in this country or is this seen as too closely connected to hoiuse prices?

thanks,

Hi queenlex

Sure you can discuss them.

As with any discussion, if it heads off into banned topic territory, it will be closed.

Brendan

I rent apartments on behalf of someone else and from my own experience I would say that rents have fallen at least 20% since 2006. When I put an ad on daft now I always give a rent a little higher than I would accept to give me some "wriggle room" in the negotiating, given that almost all people viewing the apartments ask for a reduction. Summers are usually quiet anyway for rentals but this summer is quieter than I have ever seen it.

Thats fair enough I just think rents in this country are mad for what youre getting and obviously this is based on the high cost of mortgage repayments even with the interest rates low.

I think the idea of paying e.g.€500 a month sometimes even more to share a two bed apt with say one other person (even worse value if sharing with more than 1 other I assume in most peoples' views) is an awful lot out of an average earners wages or an even higher earner unless they have money to burn. I would be curious to know what people in other similar sizerd cities to Dublin pay for something similar anyone any opinions/figures?

The rent on Student accommodation is still high. I think these landlords need to be taken in hand by the PRTB (who I belive should access these countrywide). My own daughter is finished in Uni but her old housemates are being quoted an increase. Some of them have priced around and it seems most if not all are increasing their prices. This is so unfair to students and parents given the current economic downturn.

Do you guys not remember the rental market in the 90's and how expensive things were then? From what I can see, rents today are at the same level as they were nearly 15 years ago.

I remember my old landlord in Galway city centre telling me about the house he bought in 1996. In the twelve years that he had owned it, the rent had never gone up despite it being in a prime location and priced at the market rate.

As for your comment queenlex, the average monthly wage people take home would be about €2,500. If rent is €500, then they're paying 1/5th of their wages for accomodation. Historically when you rented, you tended to pay 1/3rd of your wages on rent.

Yes, Dublin rents are still too high.

But, outside Dublin, rents are back to rates seen years ago.

Examples

Tobbercurry (a lot of supply of new houses)

A 3-bed house for 350 (not 100% sure about that) or 500pm (more sure of that)

Sligo: 3-bed, 1.5km from town centre, = 700 pm, down from 800pm last year

Lets not forget, it's not just the rent, but the quality of the accomodation out there.

Things are improving, but having rented in lots of places over the years, I have never seen such squalid tenements to rent at such high prices as I have in Dublin.

In fairness rent for shared accomadation in Dublin suburbs has really come down massively the last 18 months. it used to be crazy now its becoming more acceptable. Any rooms on Daft long term are the people who refuse to drop. Good riddance to them.

It's not necessarily a bad thing for landlords that rents have come down a bit as the incentive to buy is also diminished somewhat with more reasonable rents. fewer people buying means more people renting.....just a thought. others may disagree. I've had to lower my rent on the house by 200 since last September. That seems to be the market rate now so what can you do only go with it.