Rents in regional cities surge to more than €2,000 a month

The average open-market rent nationwide in the third quarter of 2024 was €1,955 a month, said Daft.ie. This is a significant 43% higher than before the outbreak of covid-19.

In just one year, average market rents in Limerick City have risen a staggering 19.2% to €2,221 a month. In Cork City, rents have risen 10.4% to €2,077 while they are up 10.5% to €2,189 in Galway City.

In Dublin, the average market rent is €2,476 a month, up 5.2%, while rents in Waterford City have risen 5.8% to €1,639.

The report found that following a year-and-a-half of improving availability, the number of homes available to rent on the open market is falling.

At the beginning of this month, just over 2,400 homes were available to rent across the country. This was a reduction of 14% on November 1, 2023, and well below the 2015-2019 average of almost 4,400 homes.

The report also analysed the difference between rent increases for sitting tenants compared to those for market tenants entering a new rental.

On average, rents for sitting tenants have increased 2.6% each year over the last decade, compared to 7.4% for market tenants during the same period.

 “Sitting tenants in Dublin have seen a greater share of this increase than their counterparts elsewhere.”

Trinity College Dublin economist and housing expert Ronan Lyons, who compiled the latest Daft.ie report, said the notable aspect from the latest data is the surge being seen in Dublin rents.

While there was double-digit rent inflation in other areas of the country in recent quarters, it was far lower in the capital. He said this may have suggested people were fleeing the cities in the aftermath of covid-19 given the pivot for many to remote working, but the inflation in other cities shows that this has not been the case.

Rents in Dublin

“Why was rental inflation in Dublin so weak in 2023 compared to elsewhere? And why is that gap seemingly disappearing? asked Mr Lyons.

“To answer that, we need only look at supply.

“In Dublin, there has been a surge in apartments being completed in recent quarters, but that surge is now waning. The majority of those apartments were for the private rental market, although a substantial share were for social housing, through either approved housing bodies or local authorities.”

Mr Lyons said the number of apartments completed in Dublin in the first nine months of this year is down a quarter on the same period in 2023.

He said that as the pipeline dries up, conditions in Dublin are likely to be similar to elsewhere as a re-emergence of very weak supply faces up to strong demand.

“The target for the new government has to be giving the same priority to the rental sector that has been given to owner-occupiers and to social housing over the last few years.

“Otherwise, it’s hard to see when conditions will change.”