Rent increases in Dublin but falls elsewhere in second quarter

Latest survey suggests strong growth in apartment sector driving rents upwards

The latest index is a story of two markets, according to the PRTB’s director. Photograph: Frank Miller/The Irish Times
The latest index is a story of two markets, according to the PRTB’s director. Photograph: Frank Miller/The Irish Times

Rental costs for private accommodation in the Dublin region continued to increase on the second quarter of this year, according to new findings from the Private Residential Tenancies Board.

The PRTB index, which is based on the board’s register of more than 273,000 tenancies throughout the country, found that monthly rent broadly increased by 1.3 per cent on a mix-adjusted basis when compared to the first three months of the year. Over the same timeframe, rent in Dublin increased by 3.5 per cent.

The annual increase of national rents is 0.7 per cent, when compared to the second quarter of 2012. In Dublin, annual rent costs of houses have increased by 3.6 per cent, while apartments have rose by 5.6 per cent.

Outside the capital, rent has decreased by 0.3 per cent when compared to 2013’s first quarter, with an annual decrease of 1.3 per cent. Houses outside Dublin have seen a quarterly decrease of 0.4 per cent and an annual decrease of 3.2 per cent.

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When it comes to apartments outside of Dublin, there has been a similar quarterly decline, but an annual increase of 0.9 per cent.

Throughout the country, costs of renting an apartment have increased by an average of 2.4 per cent in the second quarter compared to the first and up 2.8 per cent on the same time in 2012.

The latest index is a story of two markets, according to the PRTB’s director Anne Marie Caulfield.

“The rate of increase accelerated in Dublin between quarter 1 and quarter 2 of 2013. The rents achieved in this period grew by 3.5 per cent in Dublin, with rents for apartments rising by 4.5 per cent and houses by 2.0 per cent. This probably reflects the end of the bedsits market, with some landlords of that type of accommodation exiting the rental market,” she said.

“Outside Dublin the rental picture is quite different. There has been a year on year decline of 1.3 per cent and that continued for Q2, albeit at a more moderate pace of just 0.3 per cent. So rents outside of Dublin are broadly holding steady, while Dublin rents are increasing.”

Average rent for various property categories across the country can be found at prtb.ie.