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Inflation in housing in 2025 was about twice that in the rest of the economy. This is a symptom of a housing system under pressure.

The latest Daft.ie report shows rents have far outpaced house prices since 2007, with yields pointing to market fundamentals, not overheating. The real danger isn’t another crash but a deepening shortage of homes.

It is absolutely right that, in a democratic system, the people – at national and local level – help set the parameters on housing policy. However, the State has a responsibility to those not living somewhere yet. It must provide for the future as well as the present.

Ireland is 13 years into a rental market crisis. Despite eight years of evidence the strategy of capping rents and diverting demand doesn’t work, not a single party has any real strategy for the rental sector.

Since 2020 in particular, the government has thrown a lot more money at the problem, in particular for social housing of various hues. It has done so while also effectively ignoring the growing deficit of rental homes around the country.

Dublin and its commuter counties have the lowest inflation in the housing market. But, given how tight second-hand supply is, and given how slowly fixed rate mortgages will unwind, upward pressure on prices will continue.

Without any change in conditions, rents this year are likely to be up and not down. Why? Because the rental sector still awaits the kind of policy changes that will generate tens of thousands of new rental homes.

With interest rates high, many would-be owner-movers will stay put to keep their low-interest rates for another couple of years yet. We should expect that 2024 will be another year of tight supply.

New data shows how Covid has taken a problem that had been concentrated in Ireland’s urban rental markets and exported it to the rest of the country. But it has also changed the sales market too – from where people are buying to what size of property they want.