Showing that over the last year, across the state, rents have increased by 11.9%, Daft report states that current rental inflation is the highest in five years. Propelled by the demand for rental accommodation from an increasing numbers of would-be first-time buyers who are now deciding to sit and wait out the uncertain economic times, the average rent nationwide now stands at 1,382.

Some commentators have attributed this rise to immigration. Instead, it is the fall in the new mortgage applications from the first-time buyers that drives the current rents inflation. The latest figures from the Irish Bankers Federation show first-time mortgage applications were down 11.85% in Q1 2007 relative to Q4 2006 . . . a decline close to the rise in the rental rates. Another sign that the rental markets are not being driven by foreign renters is that rents within Dublin city centre are rising faster than those in outlying suburbs. There was some 50% appreciation in rents for large four- and five-bedroom properties in south Dublin. Thus, it is the areas and properties largely unaffected by foreign nationals' demand that show the highest rates of property rents appreciation. To the credit of the Daft. ie team, there was only a passing mention of foreigners' demand for rentals and that in a form of a reference to the events since 2005.