A new report has found rents are rising at a faster rate outside Dublin.
Latest figures from property listings website Daft.ie, found the average rent in the first three months of the year is now almost €1,836 a month - an increase of 5% on the same time last year.
Rents up 7% outside of the capital, compared to 2.5% in Dublin, where rents were €2,395 a month during the first three months of the year.
Limerick city saw the largest rises in the past year, of 17.5% to €1,933 euro a month.
Rents in Cork city increased 8% to an average of €1,870 a month.
Average market rents, and year-on-year change, Daft.ie 2024 Q1
| Average monthly rent Q1 2024 | Year-on-year increase | |
| Dublin | €2,395 | 2.5% |
| Cork city | €1,870 | 8% |
| Limerick city | €1,933 | 17.5% |
| Galway city | €1,861 | 5% |
| Waterford city | €1,495 | 6.9% |
| Rest of the country | €1,467 | 6.8% |
Ronan Lyons, Economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of The Daft.ie report, said better supply in Dublin is leading to lower rental inflation rates.
"There's about maybe 50% more homes
available to rent in Dublin now than 18 months ago.
"It's still well below what it had been a few years ago, but it has improved.
"Elsewhere in the country, we're still talking about very tight availability, in the Northwest, availability is still falling.
"It's getting worse rather than better. And that's because we're not building enough new rental homes".
A woman viewing an estate agent's window, 26-8-23. Image: David Gee / AlamyRonan Lyons says building rental accommodation outside Dublin isn't profitable.
"Even if you had no land costs and no profit margins, you still wouldn't be able to make your money back to cover your costs if you built new rental apartments in most parts of the country at the moment.
"That's down to a high cost base and perhaps also to do with productivity issues in construction".
