Rents in Dublin have fallen by 2% in the first 3 months of the year.

That is according to the new Rent Index of the Private Residential Tenancy Board which shows that while the Dublin market has weakened. Rents nationally are beginning to stabilise.

Rents across Ireland are up by 1.7% in the first Quarter of 2013 but that has been offset by the decline in Dublin which has seen apartment rents fall by almost 4%.

It says monthly rent levels remained broadly stable in the first quarter of 2013, increasing slightly to €785 overall on a mix-adjusted basis.

The moderate increase - it says - is due to growth in rents for houses, up by 0.5% to €765 per month. While nationally monthly apartment rents weakened by 0.3% to €788 when compared with the previous quarter.

Outside Dublin, it says rents grew by 1.7% having fallen in the 4th quarter of 2012. Apartment rents outside the capital grew by 3.5% while house rents grew by 0.7%.

The rent indices show that the index for apartment rents outside Dublin climbed to 81.5 from 78.8, bringing the index to 21.3% below peak from early-2008. The index for Dublin apartments, meanwhile, fell to 79.2, which is 24% below peak in late-2007.

But David Duffy of the ESRI says it is too early to say that the market is now split between Dublin and the rest of Ireland.