Rents are continuing to increase nationwide but at a “significantly” slower pace than in previous years, Daft.ie’s latest report has found. 

In the first quarter of 2024, rents went up by 0.6% - meaning they have increased by 4.9% in the space of the year. 

However, there are some noticeable regional variations, with some parts of the country seeing much larger increases than others. 

“The silver lining in the cloud is that the increases have slowed down significantly,” report author Ronan Lyons told Newstalk Breakfast.  

“This time last year, we were talking about 12% increases and now we’re talking about 5% increases. 

“That’s slowed down and it’s driven by Dublin in particular where there’s been very little rent inflation over the last 15 to 18 months. 

“Rents are up about 2% in the last year and that’s because new supply has been built… and has taken the pressure off. 

“There hasn’t been enough new supply to bring rents down but we have seen a change in pace compared to what we got used to in the previous period.” 

A new apartment block in the dockland area of Dublin.

Outside of the capital - where fewer new homes are being built - rents are rising at a much quicker rate. 

“The biggest increases are in the north-west, Sligo, Donegal, Cavan seeing 10, 12% increases,” Mr Lyons said. 

“Longford as well, a big increase there.

“In the other cities, the big one is Limerick City; for renters, it’s still up by more than 15% year-on-year. 

“Whereas, in Cork, Galway and Waterford City, there is a significant inflation - much more so than in Dublin - but it’s somewhere in between, so 5, 6, 7% year-on-year.” 

The average open market property to rent in Ireland in the first quarter of the year was €1,836 per month.

Main image: Smoke coming from homes in County Donegal. Image: Piere Bonbon / Alamy