Rents in Connacht have been rising year-on-year, reflecting a sharp fall in availability - with just 138 homes available to rent on February 1, down over 60 per cent compared to a year ago.
In Mayo, rents were on average 2.5 per cent higher in the final three months of 2020 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €762, up 47 per cent from its lowest point.
The average rent nationwide in the final three months of 2020 was 0.9% higher than a year previously, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie The average monthly rent stood at €1,414 in the final quarter of 2020, up from a low of €742 per month seen in late 2011.
The national average hides significant regional variation, though. In Dublin, rents fell 3.3% during the year 2020, with rent declines concentrated in the second and fourth quarters of the year.
In the rest of the country, however, rents rose by 5.4% on average during 2020, with only a modest fall in the second quarter lockdown and an increase during the final three months of the year.
Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft Report, said: "Often people query whether the basics of supply and demand apply to the housing market. These latest figures should remove any lingering doubts about the importance of supply in lower rents.
"Outside Dublin, Covid-19 has led to a further worsening of supply conditions in the rental market, with the number of homes coming on each month down 17% on already low levels. While demand for rental homes outside the capital has fallen – with the rise in unemployment – it has not fallen as much as supply, pushing rents further upwards. In Dublin, Covid-19 has had the opposite effect, with the number of homes being advertised to rent up 64% on February 1, compared to a year previously.
"With the increase in homes being advertised, active demand for homes to rent has also soared, up 40% compared to pre-pandemic. But the greater liquidity of the market has helped bring rents down slightly.
"Nonetheless, rents in the capital – and in Ireland’s other main cities – remain at twice their level a decade ago. This underscores the importance of ensuring the construction of tens of thousands of new rental homes over the coming years, to help bring rents back down to affordable levels."
