MARKET RENTS IN the second quarter of 2023 rose by an average of 2.4% compared to the first three months of the year although Dublin lagged behind the rest of the country, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie.

Compared to a year ago, rents in the open-market are now 10.7% higher, with the average market rent nationwide in the second quarter just under €1,800 per month.

This compares to €1,387 in the first quarter of 2020 and a low of just €765 per month seen in late 2011.

There was a noticeable difference between trends in Dublin and elsewhere in the second quarter.

In the capital, market rents rose by just 0.3% quarter-on-quarter – the second quarter in a row of muted increases.

However, outside Dublin, the average increase between March and June was 4.3%, the second largest quarterly increase recorded outside the capital since the start of the Daft Report in 2006.

Having fallen in the first quarter, market rents rose in each of the other main cities – Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.

Average rents in Dublin were €2,344, which is 59.8% of the national median monthly income

This average is an 8.0% year-on-year increase from Q2 2022.

This compared to Cork city’s average of  €1,793 (45.77% of the national median monthly income) which was up 7.4% from the previous year.

Rents have increased in Galway city by 12.2% to an average of €1,867 (47.66% of the median monthly income), while rents in Limerick were at an average of €1,738 (44.37% of the median monthly income), up 11.5% from a year before.

The average rent for Waterford city was €1,471, up 12.1%.

The average rent for the rest of the country was €1,431, a 14.1% increase year-on-year.

The report noted that the shortage of rental accommodation continues, although in recent months the number of homes available to rent has increased slightly.

On 1 August, there were fewer than 1,200 homes available to rent nationwide.

This marked an increase of over 460 on the same date last year, but availability remains extremely tight compared to other years.

The level of homes on the market is less than one third of what had been typical in the 2015-2019 period.

While there was an increase in rental prices on the open market, Daft’s survey of tenants showed that, on average, rents paid by sitting tenants have increased by 3.8% over the last twelve months, with bigger percentage increases outside Dublin (4.5%) than in the capital (3.2%).

Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin, said:

“The figures in this latest rental market report indicate something of a split in market conditions.”

“In Dublin, the construction of new rental housing – together perhaps with the effect of layoffs in some larger employers – has led to an easing of pressure in the open market.”

“Conditions remain far from benign for prospective tenants but the mismatch between strong demand and weak supply is not as stark as in recent quarters. Outside the capital, however, the lack of new rental homes means that the imbalance between supply and demand is still there.”

“Indeed, in Connacht-Ulster, rents jumped over 6% in just three months pushing the annual rate of inflation to its highest level ever recorded (21.2%) in a series stretching back to early 2006,” he said.

Reacting to the report, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on housing and TD for Dublin Mid West, Eoin Ó Broin said:

“Average new rents across the state have increased by almost 11% in the last 12 months.”

“Average new rent state wide is €1800, up 30% since Darragh O’Brien became the Minister for Housing in 2020,” he said.

“Fine Gael have been in Government for 12 years. During that time rents have increased by 155%. Fianna Fáil have been propping Fine Gael up for 7.”

“Since Fianna Fáil Fail have had the housing Ministry rents have increased by 30%. This Government has failed renters.”