Average rent in Longford is now €758

Rents in Leinster's midland counties rose 4.6% year-on-year, reflecting a sharp fall in availability - just 55 homes were available to rent on February 1, down two thirds compared to a year ago.

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In Longford, rents were on average 4.3% higher in the final three months of 2020 than a year previously.

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The average listed rent is now €758, up 88% from its lowest point.

• Average national rent in Q4 is again higher than a year previously and is now €1,414 - but is lowest rate of inflation since 2012
• Rents in Dublin fall by 3.3% in one year and is now €1,984
• In Dublin 1, Dublin 4 and Dublin 6, rents in the final three months of 2020 were 6% lower than a year previously, while in Dublin 2, they were 7% lower
• Supply in County Dublin is up 64%
• Outside of Dublin rents increase 5.4%
• This report is first evidence of the idea that Dublin will be the most affected county by the collapse of everyday life

The average rent nationwide in the final three months of 2020 was 0.9% higher than a year previously, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie. The average monthly rent stood at €1,414 in the final quarter of 2020, up from a low of €742 per month seen in late 2011.

The national average hides significant regional variation, though. In Dublin, rents fell 3.3% during the year 2020, with rent declines concentrated in the second and fourth quarters of the year.

In the rest of the country, however, rents rose by 5.4% on average during 2020, with only a modest fall in the second quarter lockdown and an increase during the final three months of the year. In Limerick city, rents were almost 4% higher year-on-year, while in Cork and Galway cities the increase was just under 5%. In Waterford city, rents rose by 5.6% - the same rate of increase as in the rest of the country.

The different trends in rents reflect changes in the availability of rental homes. In Dublin, there were 2,600 homes available to rent on February 1st, up from fewer than 1,600 on the same date in 2020. In the rest of the country, however, the number of homes available to rent has fallen sharply – from almost 2,000 on 1st February 2020 to just 1,139 a year later.