The average rent paid for accommodation in Ireland has hit an all-time high, according property website Daft.ie.
The latest Daft.ie rental report found the average rate now stands at €1,372, just over €100 or 9 per cent more than this time last year.
Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons
But the report also indicates the rate of growth has slowed somewhat, with inflation dropping from 11.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2007 to 9 per cent in the last three months.
In most areas in Dublin, rents now are between 8 per cent and 12 per cent higher now than 12 months ago. However, rents in Dublin's commuter towns have remained static - at just over €1,100 on average - or fallen fractionally compared to this time last year.
While larger properties, including three- and four-bedroom properties have seen their rents go up, rents have fallen for smaller properties in Dublin's commuter towns, especially one-bedroom properties, Daft.ie said.
The report suggests that rental inflation in other cities has also fallen, most noticeably in Limerick, where inflation has fallen from 12.3 per cent earlier this year to 7.3 per cent in July.
The average rent in Limerick now stands at €885 compared with to €1,150 in Cork where inflation has fallen, but only slightly, and remains at 10.1 per cent.
The average rent in Galway is now above €1,000, while rent inflation stands at 8.3 per cent, a slight fall on earlier in the year.
The average rent in Waterford, where inflation had been lowest among the cities, is now €805, just 2.3 per cent more than at this point last year.
Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons said: "Overall, rental inflation looks to have peaked - and more than likely, so have rents, as the bounds of tenants' ability to pay have been reached."
He said: "With interest rates back at normal levels, demand has contracted, and people are looking very closely at what they can afford."