Market rents in County Westmeath were on average 17.3% higher in the final three months of 2022 than a year previously, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie
Rents in Leinster’s Midland counties rose 16% year-on-year, reflecting very low availability - just 39 homes were available to rent on February 1, compared to an average of almost 500 on the same date in the 2010s.
The average listed rent is now €1398, up 152% from its lowest point.Nationally, market rents in the final quarter of 2022 were an average of 13.7% higher than the same period a year earlier, as availability of rental homes remained near an all-time low. The average market rent nationwide between October and December was €1,733 per month, up 2.7% compared to the third quarter of the year and 126% 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% while in Cork city, it was 14.9%. The rate of inflation in the three other principal cities – Galway, Limerick and Waterford – was higher again, ranging from 18.9% in Limerick to 20.2% in Waterford.
Outside the cities, the average annual increase in market rents was 13.6%. 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 1, down over 20% 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% on average over the last twelve months. Since the introduction of Rent Pressure Zones in 2016, rents of sitting tenants have increased by 19% on average, compared to an average increase in open-market rents of nearly 75% over the same period.
“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.
“This in turn will mean more homes in the rental sector and thus a more tenure-neutral housing policy is required. Among the worst affected cohorts are younger adults, with the median adult age of leaving the parental home having grown almost 50% in the last decade. Policymakers must have a clear plan on how their housing needs will be met, a plan that includes tens of thousands of new rental homes being delivered this decade in all major towns and cities,” Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft Report, said.
