Average rents in County Limerick continue to increase faster than in the city

AVERAGE monthly rents in County Limerick have risen by more than 8% over the past year - significantly more than the rate of increase in the city.

According to the latest Daft Rental Report, which has just been published, the average monthly rent for a property in County Limerick was €1,003 at the end of March - up from €978 at the end of December.

The latest figure represents a 2.6%% increase compared to the previous quarter and a 8.1% change year-on-year.

While average monthly rents in Limerick city are higher then the county, at €1,293, the year-on-year increase was 6.3%.

According to Daft, the average rent for a one-bedroomed apartment in the city was €961 (+6.2% y-o-y) at the end of March compared to €1,057 (+5.8%) for a two-bedroomed house and €1,190 (+3.2%) for a three-bedroomed house.

The report also shows it cost an average of €378 to rent a single room in the city centre while it costs an average of €388 to rent a single room in the suburbs. 

In the county average rents were €697 (+6.6%) for a one-bedroomed apartment; €777 (+5.6%) for a two-bedroomed house and €874 (+3.1%) for a three-bedroomed house.

Commenting on the Daft report, its author Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin, said: "The impact of Covid-19 on Ireland’s rental market was largely to send Dublin and the rest of the country in different directions. In Dublin, additional supply moving over from the short-term lettings market coupled with a temporary halt to people moving to the city pushed rents down. Elsewhere, lockdown ground the rental market to a halt, with fewer listings pushing rents further up."