Rents 'rise for first time in two years'

Rents have risen for the first time in two years according to the latest survey by property website Daft.ie.

Rents across the country rose by just over 1 per cent in January the survey found. The national average rent now stands at €765, almost 25 per cent lower than the peak levels seen in early 2008.

The January increase follows sharp falls in rents last year. In 2009, Dublin rents fell almost 19 per cent, rents in Cork, Limerick and Waterford fell by 16 per cent, while Galway rents fell by 11 per cent. Elsewhere in the country, rents fell by an average of 15 per cent.

Over the past two years the number of properties available to rent has increased from an average of 6,000 at any one time, to over 23,000 in August 2009. In February 2010 that number has now fallen to 19,000 - a drop of 20 per cent.

Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, Economist at Daft.ie said that it is too soon to say "definitively whether rents have levelled off" although the January increase appears to be broadly consistent around the country.