The latest report from property website Daft shows that average national rent prices rose by 3.4% between January and March this year, surpassing €2,000 for the first time, reports RTE.
The report notes that this jump is among the largest seen over a three-month span in the past 20 years, with average monthly rent now at €2,053.
This new figure marks a rise from €765 in 2011 and represents a 48% increase compared to pre-Covid levels, reports RTE.
Dublin remains the most expensive area for renters, with average prices now at €2,540, up 5.8% in the year to March.
Other major cities also experienced substantial rent hikes in March, including Limerick (up 20% to €2,405), Cork (up 13.6% to €2,213), Galway (up 12.6% to €2,304), and Waterford (up 9.9% to €1,735), reports RTE.
In regions outside the major urban centres, rents in Leinster and Connacht-Ulster rose by just over 5% annually, while Munster recorded an 11.5% increase.
At the beginning of May, Daft.ie listed just over 2,300 rental properties across the country, a drop of 14% compared to the same time last year, making it the third lowest number for May in two decades, reports RTE.
Commenting on the data, Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin Ronan Lyons stated the “sustained increases in rents in the open market are being driven by an acute and worsening shortage of rental housing”.
“Unfortunately, changes made to rent controls in 2021 dramatically reduced the ability of Ireland’s rental sector to attract the capital needed for new supply, the ultimate remedy for the shortage, reports RTE.
“The opportunity exists for the Government to reform those controls and facilitate the emergence of a new pipeline of rental homes. Nonetheless, further supports will be needed to encourage new rental supply outside of the Greater Dublin Area,” Prof Lyons said, reports RTE.
During an interview on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Prof Lyons added that rents have risen by around 160% compared to just over a decade ago.
“For those in the open market, rents have increased quite starkly, almost 50% in the last five years since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic and about 160% higher than that low a little over 10 years ago,” reports RTE.
He clarified that these figures pertain to new renters.
Existing tenants have experienced a different trend, mostly due to the impact of rent pressure zones, he noted.
Prof Lyons also highlighted that Limerick’s open market rents jumped by 20% year-on-year, reports RTE.
While this is a particularly notable example, he observed that similar rises are occurring across the country.
“It’s 10% in some cases, and like in Carlow and Kilkenny, it’s smaller in others, maybe four or 5% but still, those four or 5% increases in places like Cavan or Monaghan or Donegal come on top of very large increases over the last couple of years,” reports RTE.
He concluded that the limited supply of rental homes continues to fuel the issue.
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