Rent Prices Smash Records Again in 2022 With Double Digit Inflation

Average rents increased by a staggering 11.7% in Ireland in 2022 with average market rent nationwide between January and March of 2023 reaching €1,750 per month.

There is a sliver of good news, however, with a figure of just a 1% increase nationally in the first three months of 2023 compared with the previous quarter at the end of 2022. The cooling of inflation represents the smallest increase in rent prices since 2020.

The country’s major urban areas saw the largest drop in inflation at the start of 2023. Rents increased by just 0.5% in Dublin while Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford saw an average decrease of 1.8% during the same period.

These were the areas which saw a particularly high increase during 2022, however, where nearly the entire country recorded double-digit market rent price inflation. Mayo recorded the highest increase in average rent prices by country in 2022, reaching a whopping 21.1%

At the time of the report's publication, there were just 959 available rental properties nationwide with less than 500 in Dublin. The report states that the price increases are a result of the "extraordinary shortages" in the availability of rental accommodation in Ireland.

While rural areas saw the highest inflation in the first three months of 2023, there still remains a significant difference in rent prices across the country. The highest average monthly market rent can be found in south County Dublin at €2,586 while Leitrim county recorded the lowest levels at just €960.

The report's author, Ronan Lyons, an Associate Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin said: “The figures in this latest report offer some crumbs of comfort for those of us gravely concerned about the health of Ireland's rental market. For over a decade now, the rental market has been characterized by worsening availability and, as a consequence, higher and higher rents.”

He added “The solution to Ireland's rental housing shortage requires significant action by policymakers.

The number of rental homes coming onto the market in newly-built developments has held up in recent months but is likely to reduce in the quarters ahead unless issues around planning certainty and viability are addressed.

"Ultimately, policymakers must have a clear plan on how tens of thousands of new rental homes will be delivered this decade in all major towns and cities.”