DUBLIN, Ireland: The average open-market rent across Ireland has surpassed 2,000 euros per month for the first time, reaching 2,053 euros in the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest Daft.ie quarterly rental report.

This marks a sharp increase from a low of just 765 euros in 2011 and is now 48 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels. Rents rose by 3.4 percent in the first three months of 2025, one of the most significant quarterly increases recorded in the past two decades.

Over the past year, rents increased by 7.3 percent nationwide, with a 5.7 percent rise since the end of 2024. Dublin rents climbed by 5.8 percent, while rents outside the capital saw an 8.6 percent jump — the smallest gap in inflation rates between the two areas in two years.

Limerick recorded the most significant year-on-year increase, with rents up by more than 20 percent. Cork followed with a 13.6 percent rise, while Galway experienced a 12.6 percent increase. The average rent in Cork City now stands at 2,213 euros, while renters in Galway City can expect to pay 2,304 euros. Waterford City saw a 9.9 percent rise in rents.

Rents in Leinster and Connacht-Ulster increased by just over 5 percent year-on-year, while Munster experienced an 11.5 percent hike.

The availability of rental properties continues to decline, with just over 2,300 homes available to rent nationwide as of May 1st, down 14 percent from last year. This represents the third-lowest number of properties available in May over the past 20 years.

Ronan Lyons, Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the report, said the acute and worsening shortage of rental housing is driving the sustained rise in rents.

"The average open-market rent nationwide exceeds 2,000 euros a month for the first time, up from below 1,400 euros a month just five years ago," Lyons said.

He added that changes made to rent controls in 2021 have significantly reduced the sector's ability to attract the capital needed to increase housing supply.

"The opportunity exists for the government to reform those controls and facilitate the emergence of a new pipeline of rental homes. Nonetheless, further support will be needed to encourage new rental supply outside of the Greater Dublin Area," Lyons said.