Daft Property - Irish Property News

Glut of properties drives down rents. RENTAL prices are set to fall in the coming months after a glut of extra properties were put on the market. New figures showed that the number of properties available to rent has shot up by a third since May. Overall rent levels across the country have not moved for a year, but economists predict they may fall in the coming months because of the greater number of properties on the market. The average monthly rent for a house or apartment is €823, a new Daft.ie survey showed. Rents fell by a quarter at the start of 2007, but have since stabilised and are not changing from one month to the next. Owners reacted to rents remaining static by putting more vacant properties into the rental market, Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons said. The figures came as the scramble for third-level students to find accommodation begins. The total number of properties available to rent in Ireland's five major cities rose from 6,000 in May to 8,000 at the

More pain as households hit with new €100 ‘property’ tax... ALMOST all households are set to be hit with a new €100 service charge to be announced this week, the Irish Independent has learned. The Cabinet will sign off on the combined water and property tax tomorrow, despite the easing of the debt burden under the new EU bailout deal. Environment Minister Phil Hogan is coming under pressure to exempt those on low incomes from the new tax, which will result in middle-income earners paying more. The Government is expecting to bring in upwards of €150m from the charge. The flat-rate levy, to be introduced next year, will be the first tough decision to be taken by the Coalition that will prove unpopular to the overwhelming majority of people. The options for the annual charge range from €100 to €200 a year. The likely outcome is a sum at the lower range of €100, with a small number of exemptions -- the solution favoured by Mr Hogan. However, this will have to be approved by the

Some Dublin rents among highest in EU despite decline... The relatively high rents for Dublin prime office and retail accommodation are highlighted by the latest Knight Frank summer survey of European rents and yields. Dublin's prime shopping centre rents, at €3,750 per sqm per year, are the second-most expensive of the 25 cities surveyed and surpassed only by London's West End, where rents average €5,556 per sqm. Parisian rents, at €2,000 per sqm, are little over half those in Dublin. Dublin shopping centre rents are the only ones to show declines. Keiron Diamond, director at Knight Frank Ireland, points out that many distressed tenants have secured rent reductions or other forms of deals with landlords, some of whom, however, are reluctant to publicly acknowledge rent cuts. The values of Dublin shopping centres have declined and this is also reflected in the yields, which at 7.75pc, shows the values are the fourth cheapest in Europe. Some might argue that the high

Irish Property Market...Fact is Fiction & TV Reality? I love this!...A mockumentary video, used to promote a new property website for Ireland. This video fooled both the national broadcaster and city officials!