Rent rises in Dublin since last year now at twice the rate of inflation
Market rents rose by an average of 1.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2024, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie, marking the 15th consecutive quarter in which rents nationwide have increased.
The average open-market rent nationwide in the third quarter of the year was €1,955 per month, up 7.2 per cent year-on-year and 43 per cent higher than before the outbreak of Covid-19.
Inflation in market rents in Dublin has accelerated in recent months, bringing it closer to rates seen elsewhere in the country. In the capital, rents in the third quarter of the year were 5.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, twice the rate of inflation seen at the end of 2023. Elsewhere in the country, the rate of inflation is now 8.9 per cent (down from
12.3 per cent).
Market rents continue to rise sharply in Limerick City (up 19 per cent year-on-year) while both Cork and Galway cities saw increases of just over 10 per cent. Rents in Waterford city were up 5.8 per cent year-on-year and outside the cities, rents increased
8.3 per cent.
After 18 months of improving availability, the number of homes available to rent on the open market is falling.
On November 1, there were just over 2,400 homes available to rent across the country, down 14 per cent on the same date a year previously and well below the 2015-2019 average of almost 4,400.
Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft.ie Report, said:
“This latest Rental Report confirms the signals that emerged three months ago that pressure is building once more in Dublin.
“During 2023, as Dublin experience a significant pipeline of new rental homes, it enjoyed very little inflation in rents, as supply and demand were largely in balance. However, the upswing in construction of rental homes in Dublin is over.
“As the rate of building of rental homes continues to fall, Dublin is likely to resemble the rest of the country, where availability has been tight over the last three years, leading to dramatic increases in open-market rents.
“When thinking about boosting housing supply, owner-occupied homes and social housing have dominated policymaker attention over the last few years.
“The new government will have to address the lack of supply of private rental housing early in its term, if it is to bring about a change in conditions similar to what Dublin enjoyed in 2023 but across all rental markets.”
