New figures have revealed that rents in Clare reached their highest level in 12 years, before the COVID-19 outbreak.
As of the end of last year, it costs an average of €752 per month to rent a home in this county, which is a 10% rise in the space of a year.
However, many landlords have dropped rents as a result of COVID-19.
The Residential Tenancies Board has released its rent index for the final three months of last year which reveals that as of the end of 2019, the standardised average rent in Clare stood at €752 per month.
This figure marks a 9.9% annual increase, up from €685 at the same time in 2018, and is the fourth-highest increase of any county.
While this is well ahead of the national rise of 6.4%, Clare’s rents are well back on the nationwide average of €1,226 per month; though this figure is skewed somewhat by Dublin’s dominance.
The RTB’s report highlights Killaloe as the most expensive part of Clare for tenants, at €812 per month, followed by Ennis on €803 and Shannon on €774.
The figures also reveal that having surpassed the 2007 peak last year, the average monthly rent of €752 in Clare is the highest seen in the county since the boom times.
It’s also an increase of more than 50% on the 2012 low, when rents dropped to just €491 per month; however, rents in many areas have now dropped once again due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
James Mulhall, Clare FM, first for local news.
