Daft report: 64% spike in available rental properties

The number of rental properties in some parts of Dublin has spiked by as much as 64% due to knock-on effects of the coronavirus crisis.

The latest Daft.ie rental report says the number of properties available for rent in March rose by 13% nationally as the Covid-19 crisis hits the short-term rental market normally taken up by tourists.

Most of the increase is concentrated in Dublin — accounting for 303 of the 353 extra listings.

Half of the Dublin increase is concentrated in the most in-demand property type and area for the short-term rental market — one- and two-bedroom properties in the city centre.

This sector of the capital’s market has seen a 64% increase in listings since the start of the month, with 396 rental ads, compared to 242 in the same period last year.

Economist Ronan Lyons said the spike in rental supply is likely due to the collapse of the tourism sector in recent weeks as a result of the coronavirus crisis which has hit demand for short term rentals.

“Most of the country has seen almost no change in properties advertised to rent, compared to a year ago,” said Mr Lyons.

“But the number of smaller properties in central Dublin — where demand for short-term lets is concentrated — has grown by almost two-thirds.

Close to 400 one- and two-bed properties were advertised in under three weeks, up 150 from the same period last year.

However, Mr Lyons said the spike in supply is nowhere near enough to ease the rental crisis and drive rent costs down.

“The scale is still small compared to overall need, however, with the Dublin rental market typically needing 1,000 homes a week to keep rents affordable,” he said.

“Thus, while a one-off shift from the short-term to long-term rental market may be welcome news for many, it does not change the huge underlying need to build new rental homes.”

The communications manager at Daft.ie, Raychel O’Connell, said the crisis has made arranging viewings for renters extremely difficult due to social distancing.

“We are working with estate agents and enabling them to upload videos and virtual tours on to our site,” she said.

Many are already arranging virtual viewings so check the ad description on Daft.ie to see if this is available.

To help reduce the need for physical contact, the property website is also offering free digital tenancy agreements which can be signed by both tenant and landlord online.