Rents rising faster outside Dublin

Rents are rising faster in cities outside Dublin for the first time in years, latest figures show.

Average rents across the country are still soaring, but the rate of increase has slowed in Dublin than last year.

An average house in Dublin cost €1,368 a month to rent between April and June, up 8.5% on the same period last year.

However, rents in Cork rose 10.4% (to €889); in Galway up to €10.1% (to €818); and in Limerick they are up 8.9% (to €718).

Ronan Lyons, Trinity College Dublin economist and author of the rental report by property website Daft, said the continuing increase in rents will hit students hard.

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"As students prepare for entering higher education, or returning from their summer break, they will find conditions every bit as tight as a year ago in Dublin - and in some places in the country even tighter," he said.

Overall, average house rents across the country have increased 8.6% to €934 between March and June compared to the same period in 2014.

But the slight slowdown nationally is being driven by Dublin, where rent rises have eased from 15% last year to 8.5% this year.

Just 4,600 properties were available to rent nationwide on August 1, compared to 6,800 on the same day last year and 23,000 properties on the same date six years ago.

"This reflects a continuing lack of construction at a time when the population is growing," said Mr Lyons.

"In addition to addressing high construction costs, which are impeding all forms of supply, policymakers also need to examine whether accommodation specifically designed for students suffers from additional barriers to supply."