Cork rents up 10% in a year; DAFT calculates rent for a one-bed flat now more than double mortgage payment for same property

CORK rents in the first quarter of this year were over 10% higher than the same period in 2021, with the average rent in the county now up 111% from its lowest point.

That is according to the latest figures released by Daft.ie, in its Rental Price Report for Q1 of 2022.

In Cork City, rents have risen by 10.2% in the last year and the average rent is now €1,607 per month.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Cork City stands at €1,112 per month.

Daft has calculated that the average 30-year mortgage repayment for the same property would be €531 per month.

The cost of renting a single room in Cork City centre is now an average of €516 per month, up 2.4%, and has risen by 10.6% to €479 per month in Cork commuter towns.

Cork City rents come second only to Dublin, where the average rent has increased by 10.6%, to €2,102 per month.

Cork county

In the rest of Cork, rents were on average 10.8% higher in the first quarter of 2022 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €1,258, up 111% from its lowest point, and making Cork the most expensive county in Munster for renters.

Munster rents are now 12.4% higher than a year ago, the highest ever annual increase recorded for the province since the start of 2006.

Nationwide, rents are up an average of 11.7% on the same period last year, with the average market rent now standing at €1,567 per month.

This is more than double the average national post-crash rent of €765 per month, and even 50% higher than the Celtic Tiger peak of €1,030 per month in the first quarter of 2008.

There were just 64 homes to rent in Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford cities combined on May 1 of this year, compared to over 350 during 2019.

Across all of Munster, there were just 131 homes available to rent on May 1.

Nationwide, there were just 851 homes available to rent on May 1, down from over 3,600 a year ago, and by far the lowest figure ever recorded by Daft since the series began in 2006.

Daft.ie’s quarterly report also, for the first time, examined the rent being paid by “sitting” long term tenants, to compile a “stayer’s index”. While market rents have risen by almost 40% since 2017, those who have stayed put over the past five years have only experienced an average 10% increase in their rent.

Ronan Lyons, associate professor in economics in Trinity College Dublin, said that for prospective tenants looking for somewhere to rent, things have “never been so grim”.

“The economy has suffered from an under-provision of new rental accommodation for over a decade,” he said.

"As a result, market rents have doubled and, as shown in this latest report, rental homes have become unbelievably scarce.

“The focus for policymakers must remain on creating the conditions for tens of thousands of new rental homes — market and social, all across the country — to be built over the coming years,” he added.