New Daft report reveals the scale of rent hikes in Limerick city and county

MARKET rents nationally in the second quarter of 2022 were an average of 12.6% higher than the same period a year earlier, according to the latest Daft rental report.

The average market rent nationwide between April and June was €1,618 per month, up 3.3% on the first three months of the year.

The annual inflation rate of 12.6% nationally is the highest recorded in the Daft.ie report since its launch in 2006, surpassing the previous peak of 11.8% in late 2016.

Rents in Munster rose 11.9% year-on-year, reflecting very low availability - just 106 homes were available to rent on August 1, down 37% in 12 months.

In Limerick city, rents have risen by 17.7% in the last year and the average rent is now €1,559. In the rest of the county, market rents were on average 12.6% higher in the second quarter of 2022 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €1,169, up 103% from its lowest point.

The rate of inflation in Dublin was 12.7%, while in Cork city the annual change in market rents was 11.8%. The rate of inflation in the three other principal cities – Galway, Limerick and Waterford – was higher, ranging from 16.4% in Galway to 17.7% in Limerick.

Nationwide, there were just 716 homes available to rent on August 1, down from almost 2,500 a year ago and another new all-time low in a series that extends back to 2006. Compared to 2009, rental availability has fallen by 97% nationwide.

Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, associate professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft Report, said a resurgent economy over the last year has accentuated the chronic shortage of rental housing in Ireland.

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"While the professional rental sector has added over 7,000 new rental homes in the last five years, this is small relative to the fall of 30,000 in rental listings each year in the traditional rental sector in the same period or the fall of 100,000 listings per year since 2012.

"The shortage of rental accommodation translates directly into higher market rents and this can only be addressed by significantly increased supply. While there are almost 115,000 proposed rental homes in the pipeline, these are concentrated in the Dublin area.

"Further, while nearly 23,000 are under construction, the remainder are earlier in the process and the growth of legal challenges to new developments presents a threat to addressing the rental scarcity," said Mr Lyons.