13 November 2023
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Market rents in Munster rose 13% year-on-year, reflecting very low availability – just over 200 homes were available to rent on November 1, largely unchanged on a year ago and only one quarter the level of availability seen during the late 2010s. In Cork City, rents have risen by 10.2% in the last year and the average rent is now €1882. In the rest of Cork, market rents were on average 11.7% higher in the third quarter of 2023 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €1458, up 144% from its lowest point.
Nationwide, market rents in the third quarter of 2023 rose by an average of 1.8%, compared to the second quarter, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie. Relative to a year ago, rents in the open-market are now 8% higher, with the average market rent nationwide in the third quarter just under €1,825 per month. This compares to a low of just €765 per month seen in late 2011.
For the third quarter in a row, there was a noticeable difference between trends in Dublin and elsewhere. In the capital, market rents rose by just 0.4% quarter-on-quarter – meaning rents are now 1.3% higher than at the start of the year. However, outside Dublin, the average increase between June and September was 3%, and rents are now 9% higher than the start of the year. All four major cities outside Dublin – Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford – saw significant quarterly increases in rents, of at least 5% quarter-on-quarter. Outside the cities, quarterly increases ranged from 1.8% in Leinster to 3% in Munster.
The changes in rent reflect different trends in the availability of rental accommodation. The number of homes available to rent at any one time fell to record lows in 2022 but, since the second quarter of 2023, there has been an improvement in availability driven by Dublin. On November 1st, there were almost 1,800 homes available to rent nationwide, compared to fewer than 1,100 on the same date a year ago. Of the increase of almost 700 homes, Dublin accounted for over 600 of those.
“There were almost 1,800 homes available to rent on November 1st, a 64% increase compared to the same date a year previously. However, having just 1,800 homes on the rental market for a country that has, as of the April 2022 Census, at least 330,000 households in the private rental market is far too little.”
File photo of Ronan Lyons
Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin.
Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft.ie Report, said:
“Between 2018 and 2022, a significant pipeline emerged of new rental homes in Dublin. A steady flow of these homes, especially since 2022, has eased the very tight market conditions that had emerged after covid19 lockdowns. While most of the rest of the country is still experiencing double-digit inflation, market rents in Dublin are now close to static. High construction costs – and uncertain financing – has meant that viability is a challenge outside the capital. But the solution to high rents remains the construction of large volumes of new rental housing around the country. Given viability challenges, it is likely that policy supports will be needed.”
Average market rents, and year-on-year change, 2023 Q3
● Dublin: €2,354, up 4.3% year-on-year
● Cork city: €1,882, up 10.2%
● Galway city: €1,982, up 15.7%
● Limerick city: €1,864, up 16.2%
● Waterford city: €1,549, up 14.1%
● Rest of the country: €1,464, up 11.1%
The full report along with all previous reports are available from www.daft.ie/report and include commentary by Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the report, as well as figures on take-up of multi-unit rental housing, rents paid by sitting tenants, and analyses of affordability and residential yields around the country.