Louth rental prices soaring latest Daft.ie report shows

Average rental prices in Louth rose by 10.4% in a year and are now €1,793 per month according to the latest Daft.ie rental price report that was released on Monday. 

Lack of supply in Louth remains an issue. In Louth, as of 27 August, there were 38 properties to rent on Daft.ie in the whole county, which has a population of 139,703 according to Census 2022. Across Leinster, excluding Dublin, there were only just over 375 homes for rent on August 1st, down 4% on the same date a year ago and well below half the 2015- 2019 average of over 850.

The latest report reveals that average market rents increased in all types of homes in Louth over the past year, with the highest increase of 22.8% being seen in five bed houses. On a quarterly basis rental prices rose 2.1% since the first quarter (Q1) of this year. Average prices in Louth have risen 43% since prior to the Covid pandemic.

A breakdown of average prices at the end of the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, along with the annual increase is as follows:

• One bed apartment -  €1,142 - 6.1%
• Two bed house - €1,385 - 6.3%
• Three bed house - €1,632 - 8.7%
• Four bed house - €1,901 - 10.3%
• Five bed house - €2,214 - 22.8%

The report also shows, by using the Daft.ie Sale and Rental reports, a comparison between average mortgage payments and average rents for properties in each county.  It uses current mortgage repayments based off the following parameters: 4% interest rate, for a term of 30 years, with a 90% LTV, while a figure is also given for the case where mortgage rates rise by two percentage points. 

In Louth they are as follows:

• One bed apartment - mortgage- €483; mortgage +2% - €606; rent - €1,142
• Two bed house - mortgage- €715; mortgage +2% - €898; rent - €1,385
• Three bed house - mortgage- €986; mortgage +2% - €1,239; rent- €1,632
• Four bed house - mortgage- €1,829; mortgage +2% - €2,296; rent- €1,901
• Five bed house - mortgage- €2,012; mortgage +2% - €2,526; rent- €2,214

Nationally, there was a 7.3% year on year change in average listed rents, with the average monthly rent now standing at €1,922. Average market rents nationally rose by 2% in the second quarter of the year, the 14th consecutive quarterly increases. The total number of properties available to rent on August 1st was just over 2,200. This is effectively unchanged on the same date a year ago but is also one of the lowest totals on record, back to 2006.