Rents jumped 13.7 per cent last year, according to the latest data from the Daft.ie website, with the average market rent nationwide standing at €1,733 per month by year end.
The figures indicate that rents rose by 2.7 per cent in the final quarter of last year when compared with the previous three months.
Dublin had the highest average rate, at €2,324 per month, followed by Galway city, at €1,796, and Cork city, at €1,768 but all areas experiencing substantial year-on-year increases.
The ongoing increase in the cost of renting accommodation is being driven by the continuing shrinking of the number of properties being offered for rent.
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There were just 1,096 properties advertised as available for rent on February 1st, down more than 20 per cent on the same date last year and roughly one quarter of the average level of availability during 2015 to 2019.
“The extraordinary collapse in availability over the past two years has brought about record increases in open market rents,” said Ronan Lyons, associate professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin. “New rental supply is the only real solution to a shortage of rental homes.”
Policymakers’ plans for addressing the housing crisis must include plans to deliver “tens of thousands” of new rental homes in towns and cities over the coming decade, he said.
