Rents Continue to Soar as Shortage of New Homes Persists, Daft Report Finds

Dublin: House rents across Ireland continue to rise sharply due to a persistent shortage of new housing supply, according to the latest Daft.ie Rental Report. The report highlights that rental prices have now increased for 18 consecutive quarters, with market rents up 4.3% year-on-year.

In the third quarter of this year alone, average rents rose by 1.7%, bringing current rates to one-third higher than pre-Covid levels and two-thirds higher than the peak of the Celtic Tiger era in 2007.

The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment between June and September stood at €2,080. Regional cities also saw substantial increases — rents climbed 9.3% in Cork, 6% in Galway and Limerick, and 11.4% in Waterford. Outside urban areas, rental inflation exceeded 5%, the report added.

As of November 1, only 1,900 rental homes were available nationwide — 21% fewer than last year and less than half the average stock recorded between 2015 and 2019. In Dublin, the supply of available rental properties has dropped by one-third year-on-year.

Ronan Lyons, economist and founder of Daft, described the situation as increasingly unsustainable. “Rents are now a third higher than five years ago and two-thirds higher than the Celtic Tiger peak,” he said. While a decline in inflation is welcome, he warned that the sharp reduction in rental listings signals continued upward pressure on rents in the coming quarters.

Lyons emphasised that a significant increase in rental housing supply is crucial to stabilising the market. He noted that rent growth has been uneven across regions — with Dublin rents up 18% over the past five and a half years, compared to a 76% increase in Connacht and Ulster.

The report also observed that while house prices in Dublin have risen 2.7% above the national average, rental inflation remains lower than the national average.

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