The latest Daft Report shows that rents in all parts of the country have actually stabilised since November, a surprise given the apparent excess of properties in large parts of the country. This post discusses whether the January figure is more likely to prove seasonal or structural, before outlining the importance of stable rents for the broader property market and economy.
Recently, there have been some suggestions about NAMA buying up and renting out thousands of properties from its portfolio. This post goes through those suggestions and explores why it is a bad idea for the taxpayer, in that it amounts to doubling up on the NAMA gamble with developers as well as with the banks.
In this post, I take a look at the maths behind buying or renting. Amazingly, even in heady market of 2006, it was cheaper to buy than rent. With rates back down at very low rates, and generous mortgage interest relief, it is once again cheaper to buy than rent – and looks set to stay that way, unless there are significant changes to the tax system.
Annual savings for owning rather than renting, 2006-2009
A review of the latest trends in Ireland’s residential lettings market, from the Q1 2009 Daft.ie Rental Report, including a map of the changes in rents by county.