The second quarter of 2024 saw a substantial hike in rents, averaging at an increase of over 7% compared to the same time the previous year, reports Daft.ie. Results also showed that the rise in market rents for the initial three months of the year was 2% on average. This signifies the ongoing trend – witnessed over the past 14 quarters – of consistent rise in nationwide rents and marks the 45th instance in the previous 48 quarters.
In the second quarter, the average rental price on the open market reached €1,922 monthly, experiencing a year-on-year growth of 7.3% and superseding pre-Covid rates by a whopping 41%.
Yet, even with these noteworthy increases, the inflation of rental prices in Dublin was considerably less than the rest of Ireland. Average rents in Dublin for the quarter stood at €2,427, a mere 3.5% increase from last year. In contrast, average rents across the state recorded an average increase of 10.6%.
Several cities saw massive inflation, with Limerick City witnessing an impressive 21% increase in rents from the previous year. In comparison, Galway and Cork saw double-digit growth of 13.3% and 11.9% respectively, while Waterford experienced a modest increase of 9.9%.
The trend held true for rural areas, with a somewhat steady average increase between 9.3% in Munster and 10.5% in Connacht-Ulster.
A persistent issue has been the severe shortage of homes for rent. As of August 1st, only slightly more than 2,200 homes were available for rent throughout the state, matching the figures from a year ago, but merely half of the average number (4,400) between 2015 and 2019.
“We ought to be discussing progressive solutions for the chronic housing shortage that has loomed over us for the past decade, rather than reverting to the base issue,” exclaimed Ronan Lyons, an economics expert at Trinity College Dublin and the architect of the report. He further proposed a solution: “The only feasible solution lies in substantially increasing the supply of rental homes in all renting avenues across the country.”