Property To Rent Soars 133%

Renting a house is now up to 5% cheaper than two years ago, as owners choose to rent their properties and hold out for an improvement in house prices.

New figures released by property giant Daft.ie show that rent throughout the country has fallen to its lowest level in over two years, and is expected to keep falling for at least another 12 months.

Meath, Louth and Kildare have seen the sharpest fall in rent prices, with their rent prices falling over 5% since last year.

House prices have fallen dramatically in the last 12 months due to the worldwide credit crunch. This has led to hesitation amongst sellers who are waiting for some recovery in the market before selling their property.

The unsold properties are now being put up for rent in the interim, and rise in supply has caused the price of renting to drop significantly.

According to Dr. Stephen Kinsella writing for Daft.ie: "The latest data show an average decrease of more than €20 in rents, combined with a sharp increase in the stock of available rental accommodation."

Dr Kelly added that we can expect it to take a minimum of 3-5 years for the property market to recover and warned that holding on to properties and renting them for that length of time is not sustainable by the majority of landlords.

"But with an oversupply of sale-able houses, individual landlords may have no choice but to rent out their property at a loss for some time to come," he said.

(DW)