New figures show national rent inflation slowed in the first quarter of the year.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) says in January to March, it fell to 0.4% from 1.1%.

While the national standardised average rent for new tenancies was €1,060 - up €70 year-on-year.

The report, based on 19,879 new and renewed tenancies, showed that in Dublin the average rent for new tenancies stood at €1,527, in the greater Dublin area (Meath Wicklow and Kildare) it was €1,104.

Outside of the greater Dublin area, new average rents were €791.

The figures are contained in the RTB's Quarter 1 2018 Rent Index Report which was published in conjunction with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

Source: RTB

The annualised new rent increase nationally is +7.1% with Dublin the highest single region, at +7.8%.

While outside Dublin the annualised rate is down from the last quarter of 2017.

It has fallen from 8% to 6.3% in Kildare, Wicklow and Meath.

In the larger cities, Cork's year-on-year change was 3.4% compared to Dublin City, 8.8% and Limerick, 10%.

On a quarter by quarter basis, the report shows that the national rate of rental growth was just 0.4%, signalling "a moderation of rent inflation".

Above the national average

Just four counties in the country have new rent levels above the national average of €1,060.

They are Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath.

The RTB says the standardised average rents in Cork and Galway are also over €1,000.

The greater Dublin area (excluding Dublin) shows new rents decreased 0.72% compared with the previous quarter, down €8 from €1,112.

Rosalind Carroll, director of the Residential Tenancies Board, said: "With continuing robust economic and jobs growth through 2017 and in to 2018 significant pressures remain on the private rental market in the first three months of the year.

"However, while annual growth rates show an increase in Q1 2018, on a quarterly basis we have now seen three consecutive quarters of reduced growth rates both at a national level and in Dublin.

"We will need to monitor whether this quarterly trend continues during the rest of 2018."

The figures also show pressures in Dublin and the surrounding counties.

The RTB says the four counties covered by these regional designations are the only ones in the country with new rent averages above the national average of €1,060.

Read the full report here