Bermuda's rental market has picked up considerably over the past year, with total closed units increasing by 18 percent versus 2008, according to the latest report released by Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty.

The Real Estate Sales Update, which is complied by Coldwell Banker's agency manager Susan Thompson based on company data, revealed that despite the number of closed units rising year over year, the overall average price per unit was down by 15 percent as a result of lower rental prices or fewer high end properties for rent.

Furthermore, there was a 32 percent reduction in the volume of properties renting for $9,000 and above from 2008 to 2009, but those that were rented were approximately 14 percent higher than the same category in 2008 and average days on the market was up 25 percent.

The average price for a one-bedroom apartment was $2,378, two-bedroom was $3,576 and three-bedroom $5,514, equating to a rental reduction of around 25 percent from 2008 as a whole.

The report also found that rental prices began to fall at the end of 2008 through March 2009, before levelling off as landlords placed their properties on the market at competitive prices.

Information compiled by Coldwell Banker which was gathered from Government's Registrars Office records, while at least three months behind actual closing dates, showed that the figures for 2008 compared to 2009 were little changed, with the average price of a single family home in 2008 at $1,415,003 versus $1,422,169 for 2009.

The data also revealed that condo/townhouse prices were basically unchanged, with $803,271 reflecting the 2008 average price and $807,274 in 2009. Vacant land was again almost the same, with $644,136 (2008) compared to $624,447 (2009) once the $10,000,000 South Shore Road (2008) sale and Loughlands (2009) land sale at $11,864,000 were removed as anomalies.

"Because all 2009 figures are unaccounted, it is difficult to reconcile the overall strength of the Bermuda housing market," the report read.

"We suspect that even though the average price per unit has not varied greatly that the overall volume of properties sold has diminished.

"We can report that 40 percent of the recorded inventory for 2009 that successfully closed were condos, followed by 25 percent being single family homes. Only nine properties thus far have been recorded as selling at $3,000,000+.

"Available inventory is still at an all time high with 56 percent of the inventory condos."