Laois rents jump by more than 10% in a year

Rents in Laois have risen by more than 10 percent by the end of the third quarter of 2023 compared to a year previously.

That's according to the latest Quarterly Rental Price Report from Daft.ie which reveals that €1,422 is the average cost of renting a home in the county up 10.9% on 2022.

 Rents have also risen since the second quarter of 2022 by up by 3.6% from May to July.

 The average listed Laois rent is now also up 170% from its lowest point.

• A one-bedroom apartment has gone up 9.3% in Laois with the average rent now €928.
• A two-bedroom house has also gone up 8.4% with the monthly rent now reaching €1,117.
• A three-bedroom home has gone up to  €1,310 to rent - a rise of   11.2%.
• The report also shows that mortgage repayments are less than rents for more categories of homes.
• A four-bedroom home will set renters back   €1,521 each month - a rise of   13.5%.
• A five-bedroom home will cost €1,488 a month a fall of 4.8%.

The report was published on November 13. On the same day, there were just 13 Properties to rent in Laois on Daft.ie. 

The most expensive was a five-bedroom home in Graigavern, Ballybrittas. It costs €2,300 to live in each month. The least costly is €500 for a studio at Clonboyne in Portlaoise.

Six of the homes on offer are located in Portlaoise town. The least expensive is a three-bedroom home in Summerhill which costs €1,800 a month to live in.
 

The report shows that market rents in Leinster's midland counties rose 11.1% year-on-year, down from 16% three months ago.

There were almost 300 homes for rent in Leinster (outside Dublin) on November 1, up 17% on the same date a year ago but still well below the 2015-2019 when the average was almost 800.

The cost of renting a room in Leinster, outside Dublin, was roughly 7% higher on average in the third quarter of 2023 than a year earlier.

Laois rents were lower than most other Leinster counties outside Dublin. However, it had one of the higher year-on-year rates of rent rises.

Nationwide, market rents in the third quarter of 2023 rose by an average of 1.8%, compared to the second quarter. Relative to a year ago, rents in the open market are now 8% higher, with the average market rent nationwide in the third quarter just under €1,825 per month. This compares to a low of just €765 per month seen in late 2011.

For the third quarter in a row, there was a noticeable difference between trends in Dublin and elsewhere. In the capital, market rents rose by just 0.4% quarter-on-quarter – meaning rents are now 1.3% higher than at the start of the year. However, outside Dublin, the average increase between June and September was 3%, and rents are now 9% higher than the start of the year.

Daft.ie say the changes in rent reflect different trends in the availability of rental accommodation. The number of homes available to rent at any one time fell to record lows in 2022 but, since the second quarter of 2023, there has been an improvement in availability driven by Dublin. Of the increase of almost 700 homes, Dublin accounted for over 600 of those.

Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin is the author of the Daft.ie report.

While most of the rest of the country is still experiencing double-digit inflation, market rents in Dublin are now close to static. High construction costs – and uncertain financing – has meant that viability is a challenge outside the capital. But the solution to high rents remains the construction of large volumes of new rental housing around the country. Given viability challenges, it is likely that policy supports will be needed,” he said.