The latest report from Daft.ie, Ireland's largest property website, shows a 50 per cent increase in supply of properties available for rent across Ireland in the last three months of 2007.

Rents in Galway are up by 6.6 per cent on last year, which is a lower rise than any year since mid-2004. Average rent in the city is now approximately €1,008, €300 lower than the national average.

Daft.ie puts the increase in supply down to investors who are unable to sell releasing more properties onto the rental market. These properties have pushed up the overall level of supply and contributed to the slowdown in rents, particularly in non-city areas.

In Connacht, outside Galway city, rents have increased by 1.6 per cenet in the twelve months to January 2007. In County Galway, the typical rent for a three bedroom property now stands at €915.

Commenting on this, Dan O'Brien, Senior Economist with the Economist Intelligence Unit, said: "The most likely explanation for the increase in the supply of properties to rent is that those who invested in property but had not sought a rental income are now doing so."

"Rents have now stopped increasing for the first time since they started to rise in mid-2004, when Ireland opened its labour markets to the new EU members," said Ronan Lyons, Economist, Daft.ie. "The fact that rents have risen steadily since then shows the strong connection between the rental market and immigration. Overall demand still remains strong, particularly in urban areas, and we do not foresee any major weaknesses while immigration remains at current levels."

The Daft Rental Report is based on an analysis of the 415,000 rental properties advertised on Daft.ie since January 2002, including 30,000 posted since November 2007. This figure represents the bulk of the available properties to let in the country and therefore gives the most accurate and timely reflection of what is happening in the Irish rental market. Figures are calculated from econometric regressions using standard methods.

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment