Rents on the rise in Mayo

RENTS in Mayo were on average 3.6% higher in the final quater of 2015 than a year previously, according to the latest quarterly rental report by Daft.ie.

The average advertised rent in the county is now €553, up 7% from their lowest point in 2013.

Nationwide, rents rose by an average of 9.0% last year, which compares to an increase of 10.7% in 2014 and 6.7% in 2013. The national average rent between October and December was €979, compared to €898 a year previously.

For the third quarter in a row, annual inflation in rents outside Dublin – at 9.8% - was greater than in the capital (8.2%). The highest rates of inflation are in the cities outside Dublin, with rents 15.4% higher than a year ago in Cork city and 13.3% higher in Galway city. In Limerick and Waterford cities, annual rental inflation stands at 12.4% and 10.3% respectively.

Meanwhle, supply on the market on February 1 was at its lowest point on record, with just 3,600 properties available to rent nationwide. That compares with over 5,200 a year ago and almost 16,000 five years ago.

Ronan Lyons, author of the report and economist at TCD, said: “Ahead of the election there is no sign of any improvement in the extreme lack of rental accommodation throughout the country, particularly in Dublin.

“The shortage of accommodation was first identified in the Daft.ie report in late 2010, ahead of the last election. Unfortunately, at the time, the political focus was on legacy issues related to ghost estates and negative equity. Hopefully the new government will focus on taking the necessary steps to increase availability of homes to rent early in its term of office.”

The full report - based on an analysis of the full database of properties posted on Daft.ie up to the end of January - is available from http://www.daft.ie/report and includes an analysis of affordability and statistics on residential yields around the country.