Kilkenny tenants now paying €931 a month as housing crisis deepens

THE average rent in Kilkenny city and county now stands an average of €931 – a jump of 8.4% on last year.

The significant increase revealed in the latest quarterly report by the property website Daft.ie comes as tenants in Kilkenny find it increasingly difficult to find affordable accommodation.

The report follows the publication of separate figures by the Central Statistics Office last week which revealed a total of just 177 new homes were built in Kilkenny in 2018, despite the chronic shortage of housing in the city and much of the county.

Rents across Ireland rose by an average of 9.8% last year, marking yet another record high in the national average. But despite these price hikes, the rate of increase was the slowest in almost three years

The average monthly rate across the country was €1,347 in the final three months of 2017.

This represents €317 per month higher than the boom years peak in 2008 – and more than €600 higher than the low seen in 2011.

In Dublin, average rents have reached €1,982, an increase of 8.8% in the past year. This means the rate in the capital is 37% higher – almost €540 a month or €6,500 a year – than it was at the height of the Celtic Tiger boom a decade ago.

Prices continue to rise more rapidly in other cities throughout the country. In Limerick, average rental prices reached €1,171, an increase of 16.7%.

In neighbouring Waterford, rates rose by nearly as much, at 16%, and are now €968 on average.

Galway tenants are now paying €1,239, an increase of 13.1% over the course of the past year, while prices in Cork city rose by 11.4% and are now €1,314 on average.

Outside the five main cities, rates rose by an average of 10.4% to €949.

The minor slowdown in price hikes is down to a small increase in the availability of properties nationwide, according to Daft.ie.