According to the latest Daft.ie is Rental Report, the average national rent rose 2.2% during 2012, representing the first annual rise in rents since 2007. The average rent nationwide in the final quarter of 2012 was €808, compared to €790 in late 2011.
The increase in rents is being driven by Ireland’s largest cities. Rents in Dublin, Cork and Galway experienced their second consecutive year of growth, with annual rises of 4.9%, 1.8% and 2.3% respectively. The number of properties available to rent nationwide is also at its lowest since mid-2008.
Rents elsewhere continued to fall, with annual drops of 1.1% in Limerick city and 2.8% in Waterford. Average rents outside of the cities experienced their smallest annual decline since the start of 2008 but were still down by 1.1%.
Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, Economist with Daft.ie, said: “While much of the country is still dealing with a glut of properties from the bubble, it is increasingly evident that there is a shortage of rental properties on the market in urban areas, and in particular Dublin. This may be alleviated temporarily by stock currently held in NAMA coming on to the market, but ultimately Ireland’s major cities will need to prevent future inflation in rents by planning for new construction.”
Year-on-year change in rents – major cities, Q4 2012
- Dublin: €1,089, up 4.9%
- Cork: €797, up 1.8%
- Galway: €780, up 2.3%
- Limerick: €638, down 1.1%
- Waterford: €597, down 2.8%
The Daft.ie Rental Report, now in its 54th edition, is based on an analysis of the full database of properties posted for advertisement on Daft.ie up to the end of January 2013. This figure represents a large percentage of the available properties to rent in the country and therefore gives a very accurate and timely reflection of what is actually happening in the Irish property market. Figures are calculated from econometric regressions using standard methods. Properties classed as sold/let are those that are no longer listed in Daft.ie which were marked as sale/let agreed before coming off the site
Full report available here.