The decline in the number of small investors is having a detrimental impact on the Irish rental market, claims a new estate agents report.
Investors have been leaving the market at a rate of almost two to one for a number of years, according to figures collected by the Sherry Fitzgerald Group.
The well-known estate agents network has labelled the drop in small investors as "startling".
They say that the dwindling flow of new investors into the market has been a recurring trend for the last decade.
The market review said: "For much of the past decade, the flow of new investors of this type into the rental market has been dwindling, with this having a seriously detrimental impact on the national supply of rental properties.
"Mortgage and transaction statistics from the Central Bank of Ireland, the Banking and Payments Federation (BPFI) and the CSO further corroborate the decline of the small investor."
Meanwhile, transaction activity has now returned to pre-pandemic levels with over 24,300 sales recorded.
This was a 29% jump on the low levels reported a year ago.
The report read: "As we near the end of 2021, the Irish housing market in many aspects appears to have returned to pre-COVID-19 conditions.
"Transaction activity is on pace with 2019, while construction activity is also nearing its pre-pandemic levels."
In other good news, the first eight months of the year saw almost 50% more mortgages be approved.
However, rents have once again increased, according to the RTB with a 2.4% jump recorded nationally during the last two quarters.
There have also been fewer home sales in Dublin with overall sales down 8% compared to 2019.
The market review pointed towards the recovery of the housing market as the country moves on from multiple lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions.
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