Rents rose nationwide by an average of 3.2% in the third quarter of 2015, the largest three-month increase since early 2007, according to the latest quarterly Rental Report by Daft.ie.
John Lowe, The Money Doctor states that this is the largest three-month jump since 2007 and comes ahead of rent controls.
According to the report, the national average rent between July and September was €964, compared to €882 a year previously. The largest rent hikes are in the cities outside Dublin, with rents 13.5% higher than a year ago in Cork city and just over 12% higher in Galway city.
Supply on the market is at its tightest on record, with just over 4,000 properties available to rent nationwide. Since 2013 there has been a shortage of available properties in Dublin, but other parts of the country are now seeing significant falls with 40% fewer homes to rent in Munster at the start of this month when compared to last year.
The Peter McVerry Trust, which launches its 2014 annual report today, is warning that a spike in rents could push more people out of their accommodation and into homeless services. The homeless charity’s report shows, for the seventh year in succession, the numbers of people accessing its services increased by nearly a quarter in 2014 compared to the previous year. All this coming after news that mortgage drawdowns are 30% down this October on last year.