Average Rents Fall Almost 12%

17th February, 2009 - Rents fell by almost 12% in the past year, according to the latest report published by the property website Daft.ie. Over the course of the year, the number of rental properties on the market more than doubled. There are now almost 21,000 properties available to rent, compared to just over 10,000 this time last year. The average rent nationally now stands at €885, down from €1,000 in the same period last year.

South County Dublin was the worst affected area with the average rent falling more than 15% in the last 12 months. In Cork and Limerick rents dropped by almost 10%, while Galway and Waterford fell by 6% and 4% respectively. Outside the major cities, the average fall in rents for the same period was 8%.

Ronan Lyons, economist with Daft.ie, said: "Many workers around the country could be expecting wage cuts of in the region of 10% this year, which means they will be looking for savings in their day-to-day expenditure. Falling rents and falling mortgage repayments will make a significant contribution to this."

He continued: "The latest figures from this report suggests that the average person renting could pay €1,600 less this year. Falling interest rates also mean that the average mortgage holder, on a €300,000 variable mortgage over 35 years, could save more than twice as much - over €3,400."

The full report, available at www.daft.ie/report contains a commentary by Gerard O'Neill, CEO of Amárach Research, an analysis of affordability for first-time buyers by region, and estimated yields around the country.

For further information please contact:
Naoise McNally (01 421 8700, 085 749 2363), Daft.ie - media@daft.ie

Notes to the Editor
Daft.ie is Ireland's largest property website. The latest audited report from ABCe (September 2008) shows traffic of 85 million page impressions (pages of information received) and 1,025,838 unique users. Daft.ie is now the number one property website in Ireland across all demographics, from first-time-buyers to commercial property investors.

About the Daft Rental Report
The Daft Rental Report is based on an analysis of al rental properties advertised on Daft.ie since January 2002, including 200,000 posted since January 2008. This figure represents the bulk of the available properties to let in the country and therefore gives the most accurate and timely reflection of what is happening in the Irish rental market. Figures are calculated from econometric regressions using standard methods.