Rents rose by an average of more than 7 per cent in the third quarter of the year, compared to last year, according to the latest rental report by Daft.ie.
The report also shows that market rents rose by an average of 1.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2024, compared to the previous quarter.
This marks the 15th consecutive quarter in which rents nationwide have increased.
The average open-market rent nationwide in the third quarter was €1,955 per month, up 7.7 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 second quarter of the year were 5.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, while elsewhere in the country, they were on average 8.9 per cent higher.
Market rents rose particularly 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.
Outside the cities, the rate of increase was similar, on average, between 9.3 per cent in Munster and 10.5 per cent in Connacht-Ulster.
The report shows that, as has consistently been the case in recent years, availability on the rental market remains extremely tight.
On November 1st, 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.
The report’s author, Trinity College Dublin economist Ronan Lyons, said upward pressure is building once more in Dublin.
"During 2023, as Dublin experienced 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 incredibly 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."
