Rents countrywide have fallen to their lowest levels in over two years, new figures show, and they are likely to keep falling for at least another 12 months.
Property website Daft.ie says that in the past three months, rents have dropped by an average of 3% across the country due to what it called the dramatic increase in the number of properties available to rent.
At the start of November, Daft.ie says there were over 18,000 properties available to rent nationwide, up a massive 133% on the same time last year. The rental market has been flooded with properties that are not selling.
Three of Dublin's commuter counties - Meath, Louth and Kildare - have been among the most seriously affected, with rents there falling over 5% in the last 12 months.
Daft.ie says the current down-turn in rents is closely related to ongoing uncertainty in the broader housing market.
'2006 and 2007 saw an unprecedented number of new homes built in Ireland - probably over 170,000 in two years,' commented Ronan Lyons, Daft.ie's economist.
'With no shortage of unsold properties, rents can be expected to continue to fall for perhaps another 12 months. Much lower numbers of new homes built from 2009 on - perhaps only 55,000 over the course of 2009 and 2010 - should bring Ireland's property market back into balance,' he added.
