WITH Leaving Certificate results recently released, rents in the vicinity of Limerick’s third level institutes have risen significantly since last year, but remain lower than accommodation near other colleges and universities in the country. According to property website Daft, the average cost of renting near the University of Limerick and Limerick institute of technology stands at €288 per month for a double room, having risen by 8.7% on the same period last year. This was the most significant increase in Ireland.
However, Limerick prices still compare favourably to Dublin, Cork and Galway, with the heftiest fee for accommodation standing at €485 per month to rent near Trinity College.
Having fallen for three years in a row, between 2007 and 2010, rents are, on average, unchanged in Ireland compared to a year ago. Prices fell in Limerick city by an average of 2% in the one year period to July 2011.
They dropped to an average of €690 in the city, a fall of €205 from peak levels in 2007, and stand at €635 on average in the rest of the county, down €150 from the peak.
Rents rose elsewhere in Munster by 0.2% between April and July, compared to a fall of 0.5% in the first three months of the year.
In July, the average asking rent in the country was €823 per month, the same level as 12 months previous.
Daft.ie Economist, Ronan Lyons, said the number of properties available to rent had risen significantly.
“Recent years have shown a strong relationship between the number of properties available on the market and trends in rents.
“The total number of properties available to rent at any one time in Ireland’s five major cities rose from 6,000 on May 1 to 8,000 at the start of August.
“The increase was pronounced in Dublin and unsurprisingly, having risen strongly for six months, rents there stabilised in the last quarter”.