THE AVERAGE NATIONAL rent price has continued to rise year-on-year, despite the impact of Covid-19 on the rental market for much of 2020.

New statistics published by property website Daft.ie show that rents across the country rose by an average of 1.2% in the year to the end of July.

The average price of rent in Ireland now stands at €1,412 per month.

Dublin continues to see the most expensive rents in Ireland, with the average cost of rent €2,030 per month, a marginal increase of 0.2% compared with July last year.

The rest of Leinster saw the highest year-on-year rise, with a 3.3% increase from July 2019, bringing the average monthly cost of rent in the region to €1,219 last month.

Munster saw a 2.7% rise in the year to July, when average rents reached €1,069 per month. Only Connacht-Ulster saw a year-on-year decrease, with a 0.6% fall to the end of July bringing the average cost of rent in the two provinces to €862 per month.

The report also analysed house prices across the country over the course of the last 12 months, showing that the average cost of buying a property in July was €259,733, unchanged compared with last year.

The average cost of buying a home rose by 1.2% in Dublin to €378,881 and by 2.1% in Leinster to €240,852 in July.

However, average prices fell by 2.8% annually in Munster to €212,382 and in Connacht-Ulster by 2.5% annually to €176,827.

Economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the report Ronan Lyons explained that Covid-19 policy supports for owner-occupiers and tenants appeared to be behind the lack of drop in house and rent prices.

But he suggested that this could change in the future.

“Given the potential for successive waves of Covid-19 in Ireland, this may be tested in the coming quarters,” he said.

“As it stands, both sale and rental segments appear to have weathered the initial impact of the pandemic and the underlying shortage – especially of rental accommodation – remains.”

Raychel O’Connell, Communications Manager at Daft.ie, Raychel O’Connell, said the industry had “bounced back” following price drops in April.

“Despite the rising prices in sales and the significant increase of supply in rental, demand for properties in Ireland is as strong as ever,” she added.

Commenting on the report, Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said that both rental and buying costs remained too high and that affordable supply was still too low.

“The government cannot afford to wait and see what the private market will deliver,” he said.

“Budget 2021 provides the government with an opportunity to take decisive action and dramatically increase capital spending the delivery of social and affordable homes on public land.” 

Note: Journal Media Ltd has shareholders in common with Daft.ie publisher Distilled Media Group.