THE average rent sought for a new tenancy in Clare was €1,145 in the second quarter of the year.
At the low point of the recession the average rent here was just €537, but it has since increased by 113%, and things are still getting worse rather than better for prospective renters.
During the quarter Clare rents increased by 3.2%, while they were 12.9% higher than at the same time in 2021.
At the moment buying a property is very likely to be significantly cheaper than renting a similar one.
According to Daft.ie, the typical rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Clare is €765, while mortgage repayments would typically be less than half that, €368, per month.
Renting a three-bed house in Clare costs on average €1,029, while mortgage repayments on a similar property would be €622.
This week the website had just 20 properties available to rent in Clare, with only four of those on offer for less than €1,000 per month.
Writing in the Daft.ie rental price report, Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor in Economics Trinity College, Dublin, stated that the reduction in rental supply across Ireland has been very dramatic. “Outside Dublin, the typical August in the late 2010s saw almost 2,100 homes available to rent at any point in time – although the trend was somewhat downward during those five years – compared to just 424 on August 1 this year.
“But, as mentioned above, the rental market was already hungry for more supply in those years. Getting back to the levels of availability in the late 2010s would be merely going to a starving market, from one that is atrophying due to malnutrition, if you’ll allow the metaphor to be extended.”
Professor Lyons also contrasted the current position, with what prevailed in 2009, when the economy was far weaker.
“In August 2009, there were over 23,400 homes available to rent nationwide – nearly 8,000 in Dublin and 15,500 elsewhere.
“That means that for every 100 homes available to rent thirteen years ago, there are just three on the market today. One could, justifiably, argue that 2009 is the wrong benchmark, as the market had too much supply and too little demand 13 years ago.
“That said, it would be impossible for anyone sensible to argue that the 97% reduction in the availability of rental homes is the correct adjustment needed. A halving of supply is more likely to have been sufficient to steady the market.”
On the positive side, he said that more homes are coming.
“The pipeline of proposed rental homes has grown since this time last year, according to figures provided by Cortland Consult, from 91,250 to 115,000 nationwide – excluding those for which planning was refused.
“About 22,600 of those are under construction, with a further 43,000 having been granted permission. It is this kind of scale – tens of thousands of homes, not the few thousand that have been added in the last few years – that will be needed to address the chronic shortage of rental homes in the country.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.