This map breaks down county-by county the fall in asking prices from the peak to April 2013. (Click here if you cannot see the image clearly)

THE COST OF renting continues to rise across the country with the biggest increase in Dublin according to new figures from the property website Daft.ie.

In its latest quarterly report on the rental market in Ireland, Daft.ie says that the average national rent is up 2.7 per cent from a year ago, confirming a third consecutive quarterly rise for the first time since 2007.

The rising rents are driven by prices in Dublin which are up 5 per cent in a year in stark contrast to just a 0.2 per cent rise outside of Dublin over the same period.
Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons said the reasons for the widening gap between rents in Dublin compared to those across the rest of the country is a supply issue.

"The reason comes down to a lack of supply, and with less appetite for sprawl now than in the bubble years, the signs from Dublin are that new supply is needed," he said.

He pointed to rents having risen steadily in Dublin over the last two years which makes them 10 per cent higher in south County Dublin than in late 2010. This makes rent on average €77 per month more expensive.

Year-on-year changes in the average rental price in the country's five major cities are:

• Dublin: €1,131, up 5.9 per cent
• Cork: €799, up 1.8 per cent
• Galway: €784, up 2.8 per cent
• Limerick: €638, down 0.7 per cent
• Waterford: €593, down 3.0 per cent

Daft.ie is part of the Distilled Media group. Journal Media Ltd has shareholders - Brian and Eamonn Fallon - in common with Distilled Media Group.

Read: Residential rents could rise by as much as 7 per cent by 2014