Take a look at the Daft.ie second quarter report on the rental market. It makes for some fascinating reading. I’m always amazed at the quality of research and analysis these guys put out.
The report makes two strong claims, backed up by Ireland’s largest rental database.
First, rental rates will, on average, fall across the country due to a drift in the supply of rental homes, as we can see from the chart above from page 8 of the report. Click to enlarge it.
Second, and most important for UL students, the oversupply of rental properties in this area makes it much more likely rents will stay static (meaning that, due to inflation, your bedroom is cheaper this year than last) or may actually fall. Because the rental sector, according to daft.ie, is now a ‘buyers’ market, students can afford to shop around a bit, and perhaps demand better accommodation standards than they could in the past.
The report goes on to claim rents themselves have fallen, year on year, by 8.6% for a single room in Limerick city, though suburban areas have seen a slight bump of 4.7%, and rents have stayed almost static overall.
So, the bottom line:
- students can shop around for better accommodation, expecting rental prices to drop or stay static, and
- landlords interested in filling their rental properties should advertise widely, early, and offer quality accommodation at a fair price to secure revenues over the coming academic year.
Students with more money will spend it all on books, right?
