Increase of Clare’s rent prices among highest in Ireland

RENT price increases in Clare are currently among the highest in the country.

According to the Residential Tenancies Board Rent Index, rents in Clare this year are 16.1 per cent higher than 12 months ago. This indicates that Clare has seen the second highest increase in average rental prices in Ireland.

The standardised average rent in Q2 2021 in Clare stands at €894.06, which is an increase of 16.1 per cent since the same time last year when it stood at €770.37. This compared to a national increase of 7 per cent and only Leitrim (17.6 per cent) has experienced a higher year-on-year change. County Clare has also experienced a 5.1 per cent quarterly increase in average rental prices according to the RTB Rent Index. ‘Standardised average rent’ takes account the mix of properties in an area.

In Dublin there was a 4.4 per cent annual increase in standardised average rent in Q2 2021 which represents the lowest increase nationally.

Padraig McGoldrick, Interim Director of the RTB, commented on the latest Rent Index findings: “In Q2 2021, the Irish economy began to emerge from lockdown with a phased reopening, and people began to readjust to their living and working situations. The Q2 2021 Rent Index provides an important insight into how the rental sector is adapting to these changes. From the initial early pandemic slowdown and reduction in rent levels, rents nationally have rebounded quickly, mainly driven by activity outside of Dublin. In particular, rents are continuing to increase more rapidly along the commuter belt and more slowly in Dublin and other urban areas indicating that the pandemic has seen an immediate impact of people moving from urban areas, particularly Dublin. This may reflect an emerging trend around long-term working and lifestyle choices.

“Nevertheless, there is a lot of uncertainty around the emerging trends. It must be noted that the period since the onset of the pandemic has seen the introduction and subsequent easing of restrictions in line with the public health measures. This is likely to have had an effect on the trends throughout 2020 and 2021 which may not be permanent. In addition, the latest rent levels have not been impacted by recent rent control measures restricting increases in rents to rises in inflation measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)”.