The average rent in Dublin has now reached €2,300 amid a 'chronic' shortage of homes to rent in all parts of the country, a new report has revealed.
Shockingly, nationwide there were just 1,096 homes available to rent on February 1.
This is now down over 20 per cent on the same date a year ago and a quarter of the average available during 2015 to 2019.
The latest Rental Report by Daft.ie also shows that overall, rents jumped by 13.7 per cent last year. The average market rent nationwide between October and December last year was €1,733 per month.
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This is up 2.7 per cent compared to the third quarter of the year and 126 per cent above the low of €765 per month seen in late 2011.
The increase in market rents around the country is driving extraordinary shortages in the availability of rental accommodation.
While there are regional differences, all parts of the country are experiencing substantial year-on-year increases in open-market rents.
In the year to December, the rate of inflation in Dublin was 13.1 per cent while in Cork city, it was 14.9 per cent. In Dublin, the average monthly rent is €2,300 while in Cork it is €1,768.
The rate of inflation in the three other principal cities – Galway, Limerick and Waterford – was higher again, ranging from 18.9 per cent in Limerick to 20.2 per cent in Waterford. Outside the cities, the average annual increase in market rents was 13.7 per cent.
The report also shows that, on average, rents paid by sitting tenants have increased by 3.8 per cent over the last 12 months and since the introduction of Rent Pressure Zones in 2016, rents of sitting tenants have increased by 19 per cent on average, compared to an average increase in open-market rents of nearly 75 per cent over the same period.
"The figures in this latest Daft.ie Report confirm, once again, the chronic shortage of rental housing in all parts of the Irish market," said Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft Report.
"The extraordinary collapse in availability over the past two years has brought about record increases in open-market rents. New rental supply is the only real solution to a shortage of rental homes.
"Policymakers must have a clear plan on how their housing needs will be met, a plan that includes tens of thousands of new rental homes being delivered this decade in all major towns and cities."
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