Market rents in Cavan grow 6.3% in final quarter

Market rents in the three Ulster counties rose by five per cent year-on-year, compared to a rise of 16.9% in 2023. That's according to the latest Daft.ie Rental Report released on Monday.

In Cavan, market rents were on average 6.3% higher in the final three months of 2024 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €1,375, up 83% from the level prevailing when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred.

The on-going increase in rents reflects very tight availability, with just over 70 homes available to rent on February 1, down 15% year-on-year and only one third the average of the late 2010s.

What's available in Cavan

A quick snapshot of the Cavan market on Daft.ie on Monday afternoon of this week showed there were just 21 residential properties listed as available for rent in the Breffni county.

The ranged from €850 per month for a one-bed in Belturbet or Ballyheelan to €1,850 per month for a three-bed on Cockhill in Cavan Town. Properties in the county town or the east of the county are typically more expensive.

The former Parochial House in Clifferna, a three-bed, is available for €1,250 a month.

A six-bed in Killeshandra was coming in at €950 per week - making it the most expensive residential property available for rent on Daft.ie in County Cavan this week.

Nationally market rents rose by an average of 5.7% during 2024, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie, down slightly from the 6.8% increase seen in 2023. The average open-market rent nationwide in the final quarter of the 2024 was €1,956 per month, up marginally quarter-on-quarter and 43% higher than before the outbreak of the pandemic.

Inflation in market rents in Dublin continues to converge with rates seen elsewhere in the country. In the capital, rents in the final quarter of the year were around four per cent higher than a year earlier; while outside Dublin, they were seven per cent higher on average – the smallest gap in almost two years.

But significant differences around the country remain. In Cork and Galway cities, rents rose by 10% during 2024, while in Waterford city, they rose by 7.4%. In Limerick, however, inflation remains very high, with market rents increasing by 19% during 2024. Outside the cities, rents increased 6.2% on average.

While the availability of homes to rent improved during most of 2023 and 2024, especially in Dublin, in recent months, the number of homes available to rent on the open market has fallen. On February 1, there were fewer than 2,300 homes available to rent across the country, down one quarter on the same date a year previously and well below the 2015-2019 average of almost 4,400.

Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin, said: “An acute shortage of rental housing continues to plague the market, driving rents in the open market further up and creating a wedge between those that get the benefit from rent controls and those that don’t. Rents for movers have increased by almost half since rent controls were tightened in 2021, while rents for ‘stayers’ have risen by just seven percent in the same time.

"As the rental crisis enters its second decade, significant reform is needed to rent controls both to avoid a situation where the pressure in the market falls disproportionately on some renters and, more importantly, to ensure that new supply comes on stream over the coming years. Rising rents are a signal of a shortage of rental housing. The ultimate solution to that shortage is to ensure new rental housing is built. This must be central to housing policy for the new government.”