The average Wexford rent is €577 a month, says tenancies board

THE average rent for all dwellings in the private rented sector in County Wexford in the first quarter of the year and which were registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was €577.

This was up €7 when compared to the average rent in the fourth quarter of last year, when the amount was €570, and was up €25 when compared to a year earlier.

This data comes from the latest RTB Quarterly Rent Index which is compiled by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) for the Board.

It is the most accurate and authoritative rent report of its kind on the private accommodation sector in Ireland. This is because it is based on the actual rents being paid, according to the RTB’s records, as distinct from the asking or advertised rent.

This latest RTB rent index shows that rents across the whole country continued to increase in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the last quarter of 2015, although the rate of growth slowed in most sectors in the first quarter.

At a national level, monthly rent levels rose by 0.5%, when compared with the last quarter of 2015. This compared to a growth rate of 1.6% in the forth quarter of that year.

Commenting on the latest Rent Index findings, the Director of the RTB, Rosalind Carroll, said the trend in recent indices has been upwards and that trend continued in the first quarter of this year.

Ms Carroll said the RTB now has a total of 324,000 tenancies registered, representing 172,000 landlords and 705,000 occupants.