Market rents in the final quarter of 2022 were an average of 13.7 per cent higher than the same period a year earlier, as availability of rental homes remained near an all-time low, according to the latest rental report by Daft.ie.
The average market rent nationwide between October and December was €1,733 per month, up 2.7 per cent compared to the third quarter of the year and 126 per cent above the low of €765 per month seen in late 2011.
While there are regional differences, all parts of the country are experiencing substantial year-on-year increases in open market rents.
In the year to December, the rate of inflation in Dublin was 13.1 per cent while in Cork city, it was 14.9 per cent. The rate of inflation in the three other principal cities – Galway, Limerick and Waterford – was higher again, ranging from 18.9 per cent in Limerick to 20.2 per cent in Waterford.
Outside the cities, the average annual increase in market rents was 13.6 per cent.
As in recent quarters, the increase in market rents around the country is driven extraordinary shortages in the availability of rental accommodation. Nationwide, there were just 1,096 homes available to rent on February 1st, down over 20 per cent on the same date a year ago and roughly one quarter the average level of availability during 2015-2019.
The figures above refer to open market rents, but the report also includes an index of rents paid by sitting tenants, rather than movers, using a bespoke survey of tenants.
It shows that, on average, rents paid by sitting tenants have increased by 3.8 per cent on average over the last 12 months. Since the introduction of rent pressure zones in 2016, rents of sitting tenants have increased by 19 per cent on average, compared to an average increase in open-market rents of nearly 75 per cent over the same period.
Average market rents, and year-on-year change, 2022 Q4
- Dublin: €2,324, up 13.1 per cent year-on-year.
- Cork city: €1,768, up 14.9 per cent.
- Galway city: €1,796, up 19.4 per cent.
- Limerick city: €1,673, up 18.9 per cent.
- Waterford city: €1,432, up 20.2 per cent.
- Rest of the country: €1,318, up 13.8 per cent.
Ronan Lyons, associate professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft Report, said: "The figures in this latest Daft.ie Report confirm, once again, the chronic shortage of rental housing in all parts of the Irish market. The extraordinary collapse in availability over the past two years has brought about record increases in open market rents.
"New rental supply is the only real solution to a shortage of rental homes. Housing has established itself as the dominant political issue in recent years. While much of the policy effort is focused on homeownership, a variety of demographic trends, including delayed family formation and increased longevity, have contributed to a growing diversity in living arrangements."
