Why are people saying rents are falling? - Yet they are not.

JimmySmith

I'm talking about Dublin and surrounding areas here.

I've noticed that a lot of people have been saying rents are falling, but a conversation i had last light with a few friends tells a different story.
Some have said their rent has remained static for a few years now because they havent moved and their landlords value them and are not rising the rent on them. some people though have had their rent go up every year in the same apartment.

Others have moved in the last year or 2 and have told me that though they try to negotiate lower rent they end up paying much more than they were. Up to €100 more for the same type of property.

I have not heard anything from anyone who's rent has gone down. A quick look at daft shows rents are rising in the areas where i know what rents were last year.

What are peoples experiences in the last year or so?

miju

if rent remains static but inflation is at say 2% then in real terms the rent has fallen

personally i was able to negotiate a 200 blip reduction in my rent this year , happy days for me

quad_red

A two bedroom apt in the Riverbank Complex on Conyngham road cost us €1,050 per month. The rental company told us after that the people who followed are paying €950 (cos they couldn't get anyone in at the asking).

I know a couple who have a one bedroom apartment on the river near the four courts and the landlord dropped their rent from €925 per month to €850 after they threatened to move out.

I'm paying less rent now than I was 3 years ago (for a better room).

So, from personal experience, I think there are alot more options about. Sure, alot of landlords aren't lowering rent. But there is a movement I think.

JimmySmith

miju wrote:

if rent remains static but inflation is at say 2% then in real terms the rent has fallen

personally i was able to negotiate a 200 blip reduction in my rent this year , happy days for me

Good point.
Just wondering because the daughter wants to rent when she goes to college and doesnt want to share with heaps of students, but spoiled as she is, thats what shes going to be doing with my money.

quad_red

JimmySmith wrote:

Good point.
Just wondering because the daughter wants to rent when she goes to college and doesnt want to share with heaps of students, but spoiled as she is, thats what shes going to be doing with my money.

Dude, in all fairness, I wouldn't take any crap in that regard!

She's being spoilt by having a dad who is willing to pay for accomodation etc. whilst in college. She can't ask for a palace whilst doing this.

Sponge Bob

I blame the parents ...I always blame the parents

miju

JimmySmith wrote:

Good point.
Just wondering because the daughter wants to rent when she goes to college and doesnt want to share with heaps of students, but spoiled as she is, thats what shes going to be doing with my money.

well suggestion for ye , why not look at a place , talk to the landlord and try and negotiate a reduction in rent , all he can do is say no and if he's no-one else lined up and thinks you'll walk then you may well get your reduction

miju

Sponge Bob wrote:

I blame the parents ...I always blame the parents

ah leave him be SpongeBob ,

I understand jimmy got a sprog of my own (not college going age by a long shot) ye'd move the world for em


...though you'd probably do yer back in , in the process

quad_red

miju wrote:

well suggestion for ye , why not look at a place , talk to the landlord and try and negotiate a reduction in rent , all he can do is say no and if he's no-one else lined up and thinks you'll walk then you may well get your reduction

Not sure any landlord is going to bend over backwards to secure a student tbh.

Unless it's a kip.

shoegirl

In 1999 I was paying 60 pounds a week in Dublin for sharing a 2 bed converted dump sorry flat in D6.
The following year I was paying 70 pounds a week for a large bedsit a few streets away (included central heating but only from Oct to May).

Was away for about a year and then moved to Cork.
First flat was 140 euros a week for a large one bed conversion, a bit tatty, but large, initially this did include electricity, but later on my landlord put in hot running water and so started charing for ESB (at double the ESB rate!) The rent however, didn't go up for over the two years (2002-2004).
Then moved to Midleton to 3 bed mews for 2 more years, was paying 650 for first year and this rose to 700 (but reckon it was only cheaper because landlord not declaring rental income on tax return). Neighbours who were paying to legit landlords are paying about 750 a month for same thing.


From what I can see a place like the 1 bed I rented in Cork is now going for around 160 a month but the landlord would never get away with renting it without hot running water (I had a power shower so actually this wasn't a problem) and no central heating for that price, so he either would have to take an RA tenant or make do with 140 a week. The quality has vastly improved over the last 10 years from what I can see.

Difficult to compare as I'm looking at vastly different regions but I am paying a much lower percentage of my income in rent and getting much better quality. In 1999 I was paying out 17% of my before tax income, now its about 13.5% but the quality is also vastly better (now sharing 2 bed house in North rural Cork for 350 a month, but would probably pay about 250-350 for most properties around here for a room).

Main thing I notice is that the choice is much better now than it was a few years ago, though landlords do still try to look for the money they want regardless of the quality of the property or location. Did get an impression however that the last place I lived in was cut in price because they were desperate for tenants. My last landlord (who despite his cuteness over the ESB was actually a really sound guy and one of the better landlords I've had) was having trouble letting a 3 bed house in north cork city for 750 a month 2 years ago.

Main thing I'm seeing is not so much lower rents but better quality places. However am starting to notice that recent landlords are still letting places run down rapidly. A friend just bought a 2 year old house that was rented, and the damage done by tenants was unreal - even the boiler was broken and leaking and left unrepaired. Would guess that a lot of new landlords buying new houses aren't going to be able to afford to maintain the houses/apartments and the quality is going to drop again in a few years time at the new places get run down. Even the last place I lived in which was only 5 years old, hadn't been ever repainted even though the landlord was extremely wealthy. I do think a lot of landlords are going to be left out of pocket if they don't keep up a reasonable standard, or else they are going to be stuck with the worst of tenants.

Cantab.

I recently moved to:

400E pm, own double bedroom, 3-bed house, Dartry (off temple road), Dublin 6.

Who says rents are not falling? Two years ago, I was paying E525 for a tatty bedroom in an apartment complex off Pearse street.

Choice has improved dramatically.
Quality has improved dramatically.
Prices have generally stabilised/decreased by 10%.
Attitude of landlords has improved dramatically.
Time to rent has improved dramatically (from a tenant point of view).
Ability to negotiate lease in terms of money/bills/duration has improved dramatically.

Raskolnikov

Large and spacious double room in a well furnished house in Carrigaline for €75 a week. That includes refuse charges, tv licence fee, and broadband Paid €70 for a single room in the same town with out the above perks in 2001.

Agree with what Cantab said, standards have improved hugely. Landlords these days simply won't get away with flogging poor housing.

quad_red

Raskolnikov wrote:

Large and spacious double room in a well furnished house in Carrigaline for €75 a week. That includes refuse charges, tv licence fee, and broadband Paid €70 for a single room in the same town with out the above perks in 2001.

Agree with what Cantab said, standards have improved hugely. Landlords these days simply won't get away with flogging poor housing.

I third that. The increase in choice and quality has been enormous. Large and spacious double room in a gorgeous (wooden floors etc) red brick in D7 with broadband etc for $450 per month (bills are extra though).

When I first came to Dublin I was paying $500 for a mediocre poorly designed apartment with cheap crap furniture.

FillSpectre

I am under the impression rents aren't cheaper either. Some say they have stagnated for 6 years but I have not seen any sign of it in the city. Friends who rent out are getting more and people renting keep telling me they are being charged more and can't find cheap rent. I have had friends say suburban renting is a little cheaper but the quality is less. The 3 bed beside me is €1500 a month and it used to be €1300 2 years ago.

hmmm

My rent is the same in nominal terms as it was 5 years ago (i.e. I'm paying the same figure), so because of inflation it has fallen in real terms. I remember also that 5 years ago there used to be queues outside of places to check them out, that has changed significantly in recent years.

Re your daughter Jimmy, don't expect much change from a grand a month for a 1 bedroom. Most people her age (I presume 20ish) share a house with others.

quad_red

hmmm wrote:

Re your daughter Jimmy, don't expect much change from a grand a month for a 1 bedroom. Most people her age (I presume 20ish) share a house with others.

Good god man! Where are you suggesting he get a house for her? Ballsbridge?

Jimmy, I'm in a gorgeous house in D7. 450 per month. I've got a friend living in a nice apartment in Glasnevin - 500 per month. If anything, a student house should work out less per person!

hmmm

I thought Jimmy was saying that she wouldn't share and wanted a place of her own - in which case that's what 1 bed apartments go for. I may have misread

Calina

God times have changed. When I first went into college, it was into digs at £50 a week meals included. But that's a while back.

I think there's some evidence that landlords are certainly looking for more money in which case for new lets they may well get it, albeit not all the time, or, at least, have extended empty periods. But most people in continuing tenancies are not seeing increases because it's easier to keep tenants than find new ones at the moment. Currently I am still paying nominally 100E a month less for the house I'm in than I was for a similar house 3 years ago.

I'm reluctant to place too much faith in any of the reports that say "Rent has gone up 2.64% in the last year" because in truth, that's only an average figure, it doesn't cover the reality that in a lot of places it's stayed static, in other places you can't give away rental accommodation and other bits of property have gone up, depending on location and facilities, for example. It's too simplistic to generalise.

japanpaul

Just signed a new lease and my rent stayed the same as last year, even with interest rates going up.
I'm paying E1000 for a beautiful 2 bed apartment in Rathfarnham even though the ground floor apartment under us sold for E580,000 last month.
I'm going to sit it out for another year and see if I can afford to buy something decent next year. Waiting on the Affordable Housing in the mean time. Here's hoping...

Dudess

quad_red wrote:

Large and spacious double room in a gorgeous (wooden floors etc) red brick in D7 with broadband etc for $450 per month (bills are extra though)

It may be an obvious point to make but I see a major difference between the north side and the south side. What you'd pay for a lovely place in Drumcondra, Phibsborough, lower Glasnevin - all fantastic areas - you'd have to fork out for a rat-hole in Portobello, Rathmines, Ranelagh etc.

miju

i'd prob be in agreement with you there Dudess for what i'm paying on rent in my 2 bed apt i wouldnt get a spare room on the southside

Dudess

Well you would, but you'd probably catch something off it! I was looking at places recently. I can't believe the absolute ****holes some people live in.

The_Conductor

Lucan village- 3 bed was E1500 (on main street) in 2004. Exact same house now E1150 per month.
This house sold for E425k about 8 months ago.
Interest only mortgage is almost 16k per annum on this property- rental income is only 13.8k.
Note: owner is happy to do this as he bought the house in his daughters name with the intention of giving it to her at some point in the future.

SkepticOne

smccarrick wrote:

Lucan village- 3 bed was E1500 (on main street) in 2004. Exact same house now E1150 per month.
This house sold for E425k about 8 months ago.
Interest only mortgage is almost 16k per annum on this property- rental income is only 13.8k.
Note: owner is happy to do this as he bought the house in his daughters name with the intention of giving it to her at some point in the future.

How is he going to do that with an interest only mortgage?

The_Conductor

I have a funny feeling he had figured in rising rental income into the equation.......

JimmySmith

Thanks Guys. The deal is done. €450 per month for a double room accross the road from dcu.
She was never getting a whole house to herself
She needs to find out the meaning of money

The_Conductor

You know, she did very well there......
So close to college and really quite reasonable all things considered.

daveirl

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