Experts are issuing a warning about the number of rental properties available, as students prepare to face the new college year.

According to the latest report from Daft.ie, 4,600 properties were available nationwide on the first of this month, compared to 6,800 on the same date last year.

It shows while rents are still highest in Dublin, the rates of increase are actually greater in Cork, Galway and Limerick.

It has prompted a warning from the UCD Students Union that the shortage will see students pushed out of the rental market.

Source: Daft.ie

The cost of renting is also on the rise, with the national average jumping 8.6% in the second quarter of the year, to €934 a month.

Ronan Lyons is economist with Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft.ie report.

He told Newstalk Breakfast says this is the lowest the property market has been in several years.