Dublin house prices slip as rural markets continue to surge amid widening supply divide
Latest Daft.ie report points to a two-speed housing market, with transaction prices falling in the capital for the first time since 2023 while price growth accelerates across rural Ireland where supply remains severely constrained.
23 June 2026 | editor@irishrealestate.news
The Irish housing market is showing increasingly divergent regional trends, with house selling prices in Dublin beginning to fall while rural markets continue to experience strong price growth, according to the latest Daft.ie House Price Report.
The report found that transaction prices in Dublin were 2.3% lower in June 2026 than a year earlier, marking the first annual decline in the capital since 2023. While Daft notes that this figure may be revised as additional sales registrations are processed, the data suggests that increased supply and easing competition among buyers are beginning to moderate price growth in the country’s most expensive housing market.
Nationally, selling prices rose by 3.2% over the year to June, representing the slowest rate of growth since 2023. Average asking prices increased by 3.8% to €445,000, almost half the annual growth rate recorded a year earlier. Despite this moderation, asking prices remain 44% above pre-pandemic levels and sit just 8% below peak Celtic Tiger values.
For investors, developers and policymakers, the report highlights an increasingly pronounced urban-rural divide that is being driven primarily by housing supply rather than demand.
At the beginning of June, just over 13,100 second-hand homes were available for sale nationwide, an increase of 6% compared with the same period last year. However, stock levels remain only half the pre-pandemic norm of more than 26,000 properties.
The recovery in supply is concentrated in urban centres. Dublin’s second-hand housing availability is now approaching pre-Covid levels, while supply remains severely constrained in rural regions. Availability in Munster outside the cities remains 66% below the 2015-2019 average, while supply across Connacht and Ulster is still 64% below historic norms.
These supply conditions are reflected directly in regional price trends. Asking-price inflation in Dublin slowed to 3%, approximately half the rate recorded a year earlier. Outside the capital, asking-price growth remains significantly stronger at 4.8% in Leinster, 6.3% in Munster and 8.8% across Connacht and Ulster.
Professor Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College Dublin and author of the report, said the market is increasingly operating at two distinct speeds.
He noted that cities are experiencing a cooling effect as supply improves and competition eases, while much of rural Ireland continues to experience strong inflation because housing availability remains acutely tight.
The report also highlights changing affordability dynamics. Since the start of the pandemic, house prices in Dublin have increased by approximately 30%, while prices in Connacht and Ulster have risen by 73%. This reflects what Lyons describes as a continuing “flight to affordability”, supported by more flexible working arrangements that allow households to locate further from major urban employment centres.
The gap between asking prices and final selling prices has also narrowed. Homes are now selling for an average of 5.5% above their initial asking price, down from 6.8% a year ago, suggesting bidding competition is beginning to ease in some markets.
From a market activity perspective, the report identifies the second-hand housing sector as a continuing structural weakness. Housing transactions increased by just over 3% in the year to March 2026, but that growth was driven entirely by new-build homes, where sales rose by 17%.
The second-hand market, which represents the largest potential source of housing supply, remains largely stagnant.
Lyons argues that while increased construction remains critical, Ireland needs annual housing delivery to exceed 60,000 homes rather than remain below 40,000. However, he cautions that new-build activity alone will not restore market balance.
Instead, greater turnover within Ireland’s 1.4 million owner-occupied homes will be required to increase supply and improve market liquidity. He suggests this may occur gradually as homeowners move beyond the fixed-rate mortgage products adopted during the interest rate increases of the early 2020s.
The findings are likely to reinforce concerns among investors and policymakers that housing shortages are becoming increasingly regionalised. While urban markets are beginning to show signs of stabilisation, persistent supply constraints in rural counties continue to support strong price growth, limiting affordability and creating significant disparities in housing market performance across the country.
Separately, Tánaiste Simon Harris said the Government is progressing changes to rural planning guidelines aimed at making it easier for people from rural communities to build homes locally, a measure he said would support both regeneration and housing supply objectives.
