Number of rental properties slumps

Updated: 09 February 2012 14:49

The number of properties available to rent nationwide is at its lowest level in three and a half years.

The number of properties available to rent nationwide is at its lowest level in three and a half years, new figures show today.

The survey for the fourth quarter of last year, from property website Daft.ie, says the number of properties available to rent is down 5.7%. Daft.ie points out that the number of properties available to rent in Dublin has fallen by over 1,000 over the course of the year.

The survey reveals that the average rent nationwide stands at €821, down 0.7% during the course of 2011. Rents fell by 2.4% in Limerick and Waterford cities, while prices in Galway slipped by 1.2%. Rents in Dublin inched 0.3% higher during the course of the year and they rose by 2.6% in Cork.

Daft's economist Ronan Lyons said the fact that some areas - including certain areas of Dublin and in Cork - were seeing rent increases suggested an underlying demand from a build-up of first time buyers.

Commenting on the latest survey, the Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton said that previous quarterly reports have shown that national rent indices still appear to mask a rural/urban split within the Irish rental market, with rural prices continuing to fall. These falls continue to be offset by increasing rents in urban areas.

''It is essential that rents are allowed to stabilise from a natural balance of supply and demand, rather than as a result of a price floor funded by the taxpayer,'' the Minister added.