Fewest available Munster rentals in 17 years
This is the first time since the final quarter of 2013 that rents in Cork City have not risen quarter-on-quarter, says Daft.ie.
Munster now has its lowest number of available properties to rent in 17 years, but Cork rents have not risen for the first time in a decade.
Just 959 homes were available to rent across the country at the start of this month, one of the three lowest monthly totals going back to 2006, Daft.ie's rental price report for the first quarter of the year found.
The average market rent nationwide between January and March stands at €1,750 per month, the report said.
That is up from €1,387 in the first quarter of 2020 when the covid-19 pandemic was in its earliest stages, and more than double the average of €765 when the market bottomed out in the latter stages of 2011.
The report said that while the 959 homes available to rent on May 1 is up 13% on the same date last year, it still represents one of the three lowest totals for availability at the start of the month in a series that extends back to the start of 2006.
A mere 467 homes were available in Dublin on May 1, where market rents were on average 11.2% higher in the first quarter of 2023 than a year previously, Daft.ie said.
The average listed rent in the capital is now €2,337, up 128% from the low point of 2011.
However, in the case of Cork City, this is the first time since the final quarter of 2013 that rents have not risen quarter-on-quarter, the report said.
Rents in Cork City instead fell by 2.1%, while they fell 1.6% in Limerick and 2.3% in Waterford, it added.
There were just 125 homes listed for rent in Munster on May 1, down slightly on the same date a year ago and a new record low in a series that goes back to the start of 2006, Daft.ie said.
On average, rents paid by sitting tenants have increased by 4.1% over the last 12 months, with bigger percentage increases outside Dublin than in the capital, the report also found.
Ronan Lyons, associate professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft.ie Report, said: "The private rental market has been under increasing stress over the last two years, as first society reopened after the covid-19 pandemic and then the war in Ukraine led to a refugee crisis.
"There are some signs that, if things are not getting better, then they are getting much worse. Availability of homes to rent has stopped falling, albeit at extremely low levels, while the quarterly change in rents seen January to March was far smaller than the average increase seen in 2021 and 2022."
The solution to Ireland’s rental housing shortage requires significant action by policymakers, Mr Lyons said.
"The number of rental homes coming on to the market in newly built developments has held up in recent months but is likely to reduce in the quarters ahead, unless issues around planning certainty and viability are addressed. Ultimately, policymakers must have a clear plan on how tens of thousands of new rental homes will be delivered this decade in all major towns and cities," he added.
