Average rents in Ireland climbed by 1.6% in the second quarter of 2025, marking the 18th consecutive quarter of increases, according to the latest rental report from Daft.ie. The rise brings market rents to 6.9% higher than a year ago, with the nationwide average now standing at €2,055 per month.
This represents a sharp jump from the post-crash low of €765 in 2011 and is 51% higher than pre-pandemic levels in early 2020. Report author Ronan Lyons, Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin, warned that rents will continue their “upward march” until the shortage of rental housing is addressed.
“The solution to a deficit of rental housing is ensuring more rental housing gets built,” he said, noting that availability has shown little sign of improvement.
Figures show just 2,300 homes were available to rent nationwide on 1 August, down 14% on last year and less than half the average number available between 2015 and 2019.
While Dublin has traditionally seen the sharpest rental hikes, the latest data shows inflation in the capital running at 6.5%—close to the national average of 7.3%. Regional cities, however, experienced even steeper rises. Limerick recorded the highest annual increase at 14.9%, followed by Cork at 11.8%, Waterford at 12.5%, and Galway at 8.5%. Outside the main urban centres, rents rose by 6.2% on average over the past year.
Lyons highlighted that the average rent is now double that of the Celtic Tiger peak and blamed “extreme scarcity of rental housing relative to need” as the driving force. He also pointed out that while the government has recently relaxed aspects of rent controls to encourage investment in new supply, the measures will not take effect until next year. Moreover, Ireland’s lengthy planning process means it could take years before any meaningful increase in housing stock is seen.
Adding to the pressures on households, new research from Chill Insurance suggests that aspiring homeowners in Dublin now require a salary of €103,500 to qualify for a mortgage under Central Bank lending rules. The analysis found that with the median first-time buyer home costing €460,000, the median Dublin income of €47,873 falls far short, leaving a gap of over €55,000.
Counties Wicklow and Kildare also feature among the least affordable, requiring close to €100,000 annual incomes to buy a first home. In contrast, areas such as Roscommon, Longford, and Donegal remain more affordable, though even in Roscommon—where the median first-time buyer home costs €225,000—a salary of over €50,000 is needed, compared to a median income of just €40,000.
Lyons concluded that Ireland’s housing crisis reflects a broader “shortage of space,” whether for students, families, or retirees. He cautioned that while the government has raised housing targets, the country still faces a deficit of around 300,000 homes, and the challenge remains how to build capacity to meet these goals.
