The average monthly rent in Ireland is now €2,055 per month, new figures show

There were almost 2,300 homes available to rent nationwide on August 1. This is down 15% on the same date a year ago and the fourth consecutive quarter of falling availability. File picture: 

Munster saw the sharpest rent inflation in Ireland across the second quarter of 2025 as supply fell by 9% from the previous year, with just 300 properties to rent across the province.

Limerick City again saw the highest market rent increases, up 14.9%, with average monthly rents reaching €2,422, according to the latest Rental Report by Daft.ie. Limerick City has consistently seen high inflation in recent quarters.

Waterford city saw the second-highest rate of rent hikes, up 12.5% to €1,818.

Average market rents in Cork city rose by 11.8% — the third highest percentage increase — to €2,241 per month.

Availability of rental properties had dropped with fewer than 300 homes available to rent in Munster on August 1st, down 9% on the same date a year previously and down over two-thirds on the 2015-2019 average. 

Overall, market rents rose by an average of 1.6% in the second quarter of 2025, the Daft.ie report found.

This 18th consecutive quarter of rising rents saw average open-market rent nationwide reach €2,055 per month between April and June. This was up from a low of €765 in 2011 and 51% higher than before the outbreak of covid19.

Galway City also saw significant rent inflation, up 8.5% to €2,295.

Dublin remained the most expensive for average monthly rents at €2,583, up 6.5%.

Rents in Dublin had been rising at a slower pace than elsewhere, reflecting the impact of both covid-19 in reshaping location preferences and significant new purpose-built supply coming on stream, the report noted. However, with the volume of new supply slowing considerably, inflation in the capital - at 6.5% - is now close to the average seen in the rest of the country (7.3%).

There were almost 2,300 homes available to rent nationwide on August 1. This is down 15% on the same date a year ago and the fourth consecutive quarter of falling availability.

Outside the five major cities, rents rose by an average of 6.2% over the last year.

Commenting on the report, its author, Professor in economics at Trinity College Dublin, said: “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 covid-19 pandemic hit. As has consistently been the case over the past 15 years, the substantial increases in rents are being driven by extreme scarcity of rental housing, relative to underlying need.

“Since the last report, the government has moved to relax some of the strictest aspects of Ireland’s rent controls. While this is likely to help boost investment in new rental supply, those changes will not take effect until next year. 

"Further, 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.”