ONCE AGAIN, MARKET rents have risen. 

This time, they’ve risen by an average of 1.6% in the second quarter of the year, according to the latest rental report by Daft. It’s the eighteenth consecutive quarterly rise in rents.

The average open-market rent nationwide between the months of April and June was €2,055 per month. This is over double the average before the outbreak of Covid-19.

Rents have been rising at a slower pace in Dublin in recent years, largely due to new purpose-built supply coming on stream. 

The volume of new supply has slowed considerably in Dublin, and inflation at 6.5% in the capital is now close to the average seen across the rest of the country, where inflation stands at 7.3%.

“There were almost 2,300 homes available to rent nationwide on August 1st,” the report stated. “This is down 14% year-on-year and close to half the 2015-2019 average for availability of homes to rent.”

Outside of the capital, rents in Galway city were up 8.5%. Galway’s rental market is majorly impacted by lack of supply, with the city struggling to accommodate students at the two universities.  

Limerick city has also suffered similarly, although its inflation is the highest and has almost reached 15%.

Associate Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the report, Ronan Lyons, reiterated the message carried across many rental accommodation reports: “The upward march of rents continues, as availability shows little sign of improving. As has been the case for almost fifteen years, the solution to a deficit of rental housing is ensuring more rental housing gets built.”

The lack of supply is once again highlighted as the main factor driving upwards rental prices, even in cities that would previously have been described as affordable. 

“The average open-market rent nationwide – at a little over €2,000 a month – is twice the rent seen at the Celtic Tiger peak and 50% higher than the level of rents that prevailed just before the covid19 pandemic hit,” Lyons said.

“As has consistently been the case over the past fifteen years, the substantial increases in rents are being driven by extreme scarcity of rental housing, relative to underlying need.”

He said that since the last report, the government has moved to relax some of the strictest aspects of Ireland’s rental controlled – but cautioned that those changes will not come into effect until next year.

“Ireland’s lengthy planning process means that it will be a number of years before any increase in supply is meaningful enough to start addressing the large deficit of rental housing in the country.”

Average market rents, per month, and year-on-year change, 2025 Q2:

• Dublin: €2,583, up 6.5%
• Cork city: €2,241, up 11.8%
• Limerick city: €2,422, up 14.9%
• Galway city: €2,295, up 8.5%
• Waterford city: €1,818, up 12.5%
• Rest of the country: €1,670, up 6.2%

Journal Media Ltd has shareholders in common with Daft.ie publisher Distilled Media Group.