3,100 properties to rent nationwide as supply reaches lowest point on record
By William O'Connor
RENTS rose nationwide by an average of 2% in the first quarter of 2016, according to the latest quarterly Rental Report by Ireland's property website Daft.ie.
This latest increase means that the national monthly rent nationwide in March was €1,006, the first time since May 2008 that the average rent has been above €1,000.
In Dublin, the annual rate of inflation in rents, in the year to March 2016, was 8.8% and rents in the capital are now 1.3% higher than their previous peak in early 2008. The highest rate of inflation country-wide was in Cork city, where rents rose by 16% in 12 months.
Nonetheless, there were strong gains in rents in the other cities in the year to March, with rents in Galway rising 12.7%.
Supply on the market on May 1 was at its lowest point on record, with fewer than 3,100 properties available to rent nationwide.
A year previously, that figure was 4,300 and in 2009, there were 23,000 homes available to rent.
Availability in Dublin remains very low, with just 1,100 homes on the market at the start of May, compared to an average of 3,800 for the decade 2006-2015.
Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, economist at TCD and author of the Daft Report, said: “The severe shortage of rental accommodation has worsened in the last three months, a phenomenon reflected in rapidly rising rents in all parts of the country.
“With the formation of a new government, a top priority must be to address the lack of housing of all kinds, including homes to rent.
“This involves understanding the costs of construction, which are out of line with average incomes.”
