Rents in Connacht rose 19.7 per cent year-on-year, reflecting very low availability - just 126 homes were available to rent on May 1, down almost 60 per cent compared to a year ago according to the latest daft.ie report.
In Mayo, rents were on average 19.6 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2022 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €955, up 84 per cent from its lowest point.
Nationwide rents in the first quarter of 2022 were an average of 11.7 per cent higher than the same period a year earlier, according to the latest Rental Report by daft.ie
The average market rent nationwide between January and March was €1,567 per month, up 2.8 per cent on the last three months of 2021 and more than double the low of €765 per month seen in late 2011.
While there have been differences in regional trends in rents in recent quarters, the rate of increase was similar across all major regions between early 2021 and early 2022.
In Dublin, market rents rose by 10.6 per cent year-on-year, while in Cork and Galway cities, rents rose by 10.2 per cent and 13.8 per cent. Inflation was higher in Limerick and Waterford cities, at 15.5 per cent and 16.2 per cent respectively, while outside the cities the average increase was 12.7 per cent.
The sharp increase in market rents around the country reflects a significant worsening in the record scarcity of rental homes. Nationwide, there were just 851 homes available to rent on May 1, down from over 3,600 a year ago and another new all-time low in a series that extends back over 15 years to 2006.
The recent fall in homes to rent is seen in all regions of the country, with an 81 per cent fall in availability in Dublin and a 66 per cent fall elsewhere in the country. The report also includes an analysis of 72 multi-unit rental developments, which are estimated to have added at least 400 new rental homes in the last six months.
Of these, it is estimated that 82 per cent are already occupied, with occupancy in the wider multi-unit rental sector estimated to be 95 per cent in early May, up from 93 per cent six months ago.
The report also includes an estimate of the trend in rents for sitting tenants since 2010, as compared to new tenants paying market rates. While inflation in market rents is currently above 10 per cent, and market rents have doubled over the past decade, ‘stayer’ rents have increased by just 1.5 per cent over the past year and by less than 40 per cent over the past 10 years.
