Average Cork rents soar over 10 per cent in the past year

DAFT.IE REPORT ALSO SHOWS AVERAGE CORK RENTS HAVE RISEN BY MORE THAN 60 PER CENT SINCE 2011

THE average cost of renting a property in County Cork continued on an upward spiral over the third quarter of this year – with rents now more than 61% higher than at their lowest point during the recession in 2011.

The figures contained within the latest Daft.ie Rental Report showed that the average rent in the county at the tail end of September stood at €941 – representing a 2.3% hike on the previous quarter and a year-on-year increase of 10.1%

The figures for Cork City made for even more sober reading, with the average rent now standing at €1,301 – a 2.7% increase on the previous quarter. This figure represents a 13.7% increase from the same period in 2017 and a massive 82.2% increase from their lowest point in 2011.

The situation in Cork mirrors that experienced across the country, with the Daft.ie report showing rents have now increased for the 25th consecutive quarter – with 16 of those increases coming in above 2%.

It showed that the average rent across the country at the close of September stood at €1,334 – an 11.3% year-on-year increase.

The reports author, Trinity College economist Dr Ronan Lyons, said the figures contained in the report would come as no great surprise to those familiar with the rental market.

He said that the underlying reason for the ongoing rise in rents across the country was down to the continuing shortage of available properties, with demand far outstripping supply.

Dr Lyons said the bottom line was that the situation was not likely to change until the chronic shortage of available rental properties is addressed.

“Looking into the future, this pressure is not going away anytime soon. Demographics – in particular falling household size but also population growth and urbanisation – means that the country now needs far more homes than are currently being built,” said Dr Lyons.

“More house is what the country’s housing system needs. The question now is whether we will get it?”.

The Daft report showed there were just 3,214 properties available to rent across the country at the end of quarter three – down by 4.5% on the figure for the same time last year.

This lack of rental properties was reflected in the number of properties to rent in Munster as well

There were just under 660 available at the end of quarter three according to the Daft study.

While all of the counties in Munster recorded increases in average rental prices over the quarter, Cork remained the most expensive followed by Waterford (€863), Limerick (€809), Kerry (€791) and Clare (€784).

The report found that Cork city had the highest rents of the three Munster cites followed by Limerick (€1,151) and Waterford (€863).

Predictably, Dublin had the highest average rental rates, with South County Dublin the most expensive at €2,156.

Outside of the capital, Cork was the fifth most expensive county in terms of rental prices, with only the Dublin commuter belt counties of Wicklow, Kildare, Meath and Louth coming in higher.

According to the report, Leitrim has the lowest average rents at €577 followed by Donegal (€628) and Roscommon (€674).