Entrants to housing market forced to rent rather than buy, says ESRI

The recession has forced the majority of entrants to rent rather than buy their homes, a survey by the ESRI has shown.

The Government think-tank referred to figures which showed that, between 2006 and 2011, the number of households in Ireland increased by 187,000, or almost 13%, to 1,649,000.

It said that even though home ownership has been traditionally high in Ireland, the number of households renting rose by 160,000 during that five-year period.