SUPPLY of short-term lets in Limerick would have a “minimal” impact on the demand for residential properties if they were moved to the residential market, according to a new report.
The Short-Term Letting Report released by Limerick Chamber found that there were 150 homes deemed suitable for residential living listed on Airbnb as short-term lets between June 2022 and January 2023.
52 of these properties were within Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) in Limerick City East, West, and North, with the report stating that “if the 52 properties within the RPZs were in theory moved, the current scale of demand would render their impact short-lived and the current issues that exist around supply would persist”.
“The magnitude on the demand that currently exists heavily outweighs County Limerick’s current annual requirement for housing, which has seen house and rent prices rapidly rise over the last two years,” the report stated.
Another key finding of the report was that it is far more financially attractive for homeowners to rent on a short-term basis, rather than long-term.
Over a 90-day period, the report’s authors analysed the Limerick Chamber Rental Monitor, Daft.ie, and the Residential Tenancies Board, finding that all three showed income potential from short-term lets to be more attractive to landlords.
The report states that the short-term Airbnb market is worth a potential €2.9 million to the Limerick economy, “not taking into account the additional spend that would be generated by the visiting tourist booking these properties for the short-term.”
Chief Economist Seán Golden said the Chamber wanted to examine whether the short-term letting market was having a negative effect on the residential lettings market.
“We carried out this research to examine if changes in short-term letting regulations will have a large impact on housing supply, we also wanted to understand how much stock is within the short-term letting market in Limerick.
“This report shows that within County Limerick, unlocking STLs isn’t a sustainable route to resolve this issue and would likely be a once-off measure as we do not have the scale of short-term lettings like big cities such as Dublin and Edinburgh have.
“Housing needs to be delivered on a consistent basis via public and private sector investment to meet the high levels of demand that currently exist, both in Limerick and nationally,” he said.
