Sir, – Your report that “market rents” rose by 14.1 per cent nationally in the third quarter of the year compared to the third quarter of last year may be factually correct, but it shows how percentages should be taken with a pinch of salt, as it doesn’t mean that all rents rose by 14.1 per cent in that time (“Rents rise by record 14.1 per cent annually on back of extreme shortage of rental homes”, News, November 22nd).
“Market rents” are the rents demanded by properties that come newly onto the market, not the rents demanded of sitting tenants, and the number of rental properties that became available in the third quarter of this year was very, very small.
If 5 per cent of rental properties became available and the other 95 per cent of properties remained at the same rent, then, on average, rents overall rose by only 0.7 per cent rather than 14.1 per cent in that time.
Percentages quoted in news items should always come with a health warning. – Yours, etc,
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PAVEL MARIANSKI,
Dungarvan,
Co Waterford.