Ireland’s rental market continues to tighten dramatically, with average open-market rents nationwide surging to €2,053 per month in the first quarter of 2025 — marking a 3.4% increase over just three months and the steepest quarterly jump in two decades, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie.
The current national average represents a massive 168% rise from a low of €765 recorded in 2011 and is now 48% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
After a brief period of relative calm in Dublin — attributed to a temporary influx of new rental units — inflation in the capital is again aligning with trends across the country. Rents in Dublin climbed 5.8% year-on-year through March 2025, compared to 8.6% outside the capital, narrowing the inflation gap between regions to its smallest margin in two years.
The pressure is most severe in cities outside Dublin, with Limerick leading the surge. Rents in the city jumped by a staggering 20.4% year-on-year, reaching an average of €2,405. Cork and Galway followed closely with annual increases of 13.6% and 12.6%, respectively. In Waterford, rents rose 9.9% to €1,735.
Regionally, Munster experienced an 11.5% year-on-year rent hike, while Leinster and Connacht-Ulster saw more moderate increases of just over 5%.
The rental squeeze is further underscored by the sharp drop in housing availability. As of May 1st, just over 2,300 homes were listed for rent across Ireland — a 14% year-over-year decline and the third-lowest May total recorded in the past 20 years. Current availability is nearly half the average seen between 2015 and 2019.
Ronan Lyons, the report’s author and a Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin, attributed the rent surge to an ongoing and intensifying housing shortage. “The average open-market rent nationwide now exceeds €2,000 a month for the first time, up from under €1,400 just five years ago,” Lyons stated. “This sustained growth reflects an acute and worsening shortage of rental housing.”
He further noted that 2021 changes to rent control policies have hindered investment in new rental supply. “Those reforms dramatically reduced the sector’s ability to attract the capital necessary to meet demand,” he said, urging the government to reconsider its approach and introduce stronger incentives to stimulate new development — particularly outside the Greater Dublin Area.
The data paints a stark picture of Ireland’s worsening housing crisis, with supply lagging dangerously behind demand — and few signs of immediate relief ahead.
Average Rents and Annual Change, Q1 2025:
- Dublin: €2,540 (+5.8%)
- Cork City: €2,213 (+13.6%)
- Limerick City: €2,405 (+20.4%)
- Galway City: €2,304 (+12.6%)
- Waterford City: €1,735 (+9.9%)
- Rest of Country: €1,645 (+7.2%)
