Housing availability at an all-time low as prices continue to rise nationwide

The cost of renting increased 10.3% nationwide in the past year.

Demand for housing continues to increase nationwide as the number of homes available sinks to an all-time low. The numbers were published in the Daft.ie quarterly Rental Price Report on Sunday (27 March). The average monthly rent nationwide rose to €1,524, an increase of 3% in the past quarter. The increase is the largest gain since mid-2017. There were only 712 properties listed for rent in Dublin in the past quarter, a decrease of 73% from the same time last year. The issue of housing continues to grow outside of the capital as well, with stock continuing to be at a record low in Connacht, Ulster, and Munster. Limerick saw the highest increase in rental costs, with the cost of staying in a one bedroom in the suburbs of Limerick City increasing by over 20% from last year. The national average to buy a house has increased to €299,093. The most expensive place to buy a house in the country is South County Dublin, with an average cost of €644,165. The cheapest county to buy a home is in Leitrim, with homes costing €165,799 on average. "As Ireland’s economy recovers, this strength in demand can be seen – unfortunately for those looking to rent – in the figures in this latest Daft.ie Rental Report," said Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor in Economics at Trinity College. "The last edition of the Rental Report, in November, highlighted that the availability of rental homes both nationally and in Dublin was at an all-time low, in a national series stretching back to 2006 – and a Dublin series that goes back to 2002. "Over the past two decades, and in line with basic economic theory, tight availability is a harbinger of rising rents and thus if supply was tight in the final few months of 2021, one would expect rents to increase. "Unfortunately, the figures for 1 February suggest that, if anything, availability has worsened further since late 2021, with just 712 ads for rental homes in Dublin (down from 820 in November) and 685 in the rest of the country (up slightly from the all time low of 640)," he added. Taoiseach Micheál Martin was recently praised for his approach to housing by US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. https://twitter.com/JOEdotie/status/1506368115340242946?s=20&t=1HC9afna9CxoyUYGHxALkQ