So much for the future, what of the present? An appropriate description of many economic indicators right now is summed up by the phrase 'cliff-diving'. It's a phrase economists have taken to using to describe everything from interest rates to trade volumes to employment to consumer spending. This is my fourth recession in my adult life and I can safely say I have never witnessed so many indicators change direction so fast nor move so swiftly in the wrong direction. We're living in a whiplash economy, brought to a sudden stop by a wall of fear.
One feature of cliff-diving indices is that the rate of decline accelerates. Maximum velocity is characterised by double digit figures. So it is with rents in Ireland: the year-on-year rate of decline in the Daft.ie National Rent Index accelerated from -3.2% in Q3 2008 to -12.2% in Q4 2008. The January 2009 rate of decline stood at -13%. Supply is outpacing demand.