Rents decline levelling off?
Rents decline levelling off?
The Clare Champion, 3/6/10 - Download PDF
The rate at which rents are falling is beginning to level off, according to property website Daft.ie. Overall, rents are down 25% since the peak of the boom – but they fell by just a 0.5% in the first quarter of the year. This stabilisation is being driven mainly by Cork and Dublin – the most expensive one-bedroom rents are in Dublin 4, whilst the cheapest are in Ulster.
The average rent around the country now stands at just under €760. Renting a room in Dublin is now 10% less than it was a year ago with a double room in the city centre costing around €525. The most expensive one bedroom rents are in Dublin 4 at €1000 a month, while the cheapest rents are in Ulster where the average one-bedroom cost €385 a month. The prices have fallen by over 3% on the previous 3 months.
The latest Daft.ie survey, based on the first quarter of this year, shows that the rental market is stabilising with prices in Dublin and Cork level since the start of the year.
Repayments for first-time buyers fall
A report has found that the average first-time house buyer couple is paying 12.6% of their joint income in mortgage repayments compared with 26% three years ago.
The EBS/DKM affordability index says the average first-time buyer couple was paying €644 a month in April. The index measures the proportion of after tax income required to meet first year mortgage repayments for an ‘average" working couple, each on average earnings with a 90% mortgage. It takes into account mortgage rates, changes in the level of mortgage interest relief and is based on average earnings and average first-time buyer new house prices nationally and in Dublin.
