Ireland has reached a new high in the number of people in the private rental sector since 2007, and that number is expected to grow, the Journal.ie reports. A report by property and real estates consultants Savills shows that the number of renters in Ireland is still increasing.
Forecasters estimate that rent in Dublin will rise 5 to 6 percent each year until the end of 2019. Rents are expected to increase 7.2 percent annually elsewhere in Ireland.
This is, of course, concerning considering the number of homeless families who are currently unable to find accommodation because of the steep rise in rents.
Using data from the Central Statistics Office, Savills found that 895,600 people are housed in the private rental sector in Ireland, up by 39,500 from last year.
Overall, 18.9 percent of the Irish population are living in rental accommodation, with 24.3 percent of Dublin residents renting.
The consensus of many reports is that the demand for rental housing is steadily increasing, and the supply is not growing at the same rate.
1.3 percent of all Irish rental homes are vacant, the report states, and it is thought that rents will continue to rise until the vacancy rate reaches an 'equilibrium' of 5.6 percent.
It is approximated that 199,466 rental units, or 61 percent of all rental accommodation, are owned by investors. These cash investors are pushing out smaller buy-to-let landlords.
