A new report from property website Daft.ie says house rents have hit a new all-time high.
It says that last month, the average nationwide monthly rent stood at almost €1,400, a 9% increase compared to the same period last year.
But the report also shows the rate of growth in rents is slowing down. At the time of the last rental report 3 months ago, the rate of rental inflation was 11.9%.
In most areas of Dublin, rents are between 8% and 12% higher now than twelve months ago. Rents have fallen for smaller properties in Dublin's commuter towns, however.
The report is based on an analysis of the 350,000 rental properties advertised on Daft.ie since January 2002, including 22,000 posted since February 2007.
A separate report from Irish Mortgage Corporation shows that 17% of first-time house buyers in the first six months of 2007 were born outside of the country, with the largest percentage coming from Asia, particularly the Philippines and India.
