Average Mayo rent €955 - up 84% from lowest point

RENTS in Connaught rose 19.7% year-on-year, reflecting very low availability - just 126 homes were available to rent on May 1, down almost 60% compared to a year ago.

In Mayo, rents were on average 19.6% higher in the first quarter of 2022 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €955, up 84% from its lowest point.

Nationwide, rents in the first quarter of 2022 were an average of 11.7% higher than the same period a year earlier, according to the latest Rental Report by daft.ie. The average market rent nationwide between January and March was €1,567 per month, up 2.8% on the last three months of 2021 and more than double the low of €765 per month seen in late 2011.

While there have been differences in regional trends in rents in recent quarters, the rate of increase was similar across all major regions between early 2021 and early 2022. In Dublin, market rents rose by 10.6% year-on-year, while in Cork and Galway cities, rents rose by 10.2% and 13.8%.

The sharp increase in market rents around the country reflects a significant worsening in the record scarcity of rental homes. Nationwide, there were just 851 homes available to rent on May 1, down from over 3,600 a year ago and another new all-time low in a series that extends back over 15 years to 2006.

The recent fall in homes to rent is seen in all regions of the country, with an 81% fall in availability in Dublin and a 66% fall elsewhere in the country.

Commenting on the report, Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft Report, said: “The latest figures confirm the overall strength of demand for rental accommodation in Ireland. While strong demand for housing reflects underlying economic health, it becomes a challenge when there is inadequate supply to meet it.

“In Ireland’s case, the economy has suffered from an under-provision of new rental accommodation for over a decade. As a result, market rents have doubled and, as shown in this latest report, rental homes have become unbelievably scarce.

“New figures confirm that sitting tenants have experienced much smaller increases in rents - both during 2021 and over the last 10 years. Thus, the focus for policymakers must remain on creating the conditions for tens of thousands of new rental homes - market and social, all across the country - to be built over the coming years.”