Get all the data you need about the real estate market in Dublin
SUMMARY
A Dublin apartment now costs about €295,000 for a one-bedroom, €365,000 for a two-bedroom and €477,500 for a three-bedroom at the county-wide median asking price.
The citywide headline is less useful than it looks. A typical two-bedroom can sit around €285,000 in Citywest, roughly €395,000 in Dublin City Centre and about €595,000 in Dublin 4, so postcode can move the budget by more than €300,000 before size or condition are even considered.
€300,000 still gets a buyer into the market, but mostly through one-bedroom apartments or cheaper two-bed stock in outer areas. Around €400,000 is where the search becomes noticeably easier.
Asking price is only the opening number in a lot of Dublin sales. Recent market data suggest typical Dublin properties are selling roughly 7%–8% above asking, although individual apartments range from almost no premium to nearly 20% above list price.
Bedroom count is a rough sorting tool, not a valuation model. A smaller apartment in Dublin 2 or Dublin 4 can easily cost more than a larger apartment elsewhere because floor area, exact street, building quality and neighbourhood carry so much weight.
The expensive end of Dublin is not simply “the city centre.” Prime southside and coastal areas can cost far more per square metre than very central postcodes such as Dublin 1.
Dublin apartment prices are still moving up rather than merely sitting at a high level. The latest CSO data show apartment prices up 7.0% year on year, faster than Dublin houses at 3.9%.
New apartments face a separate affordability problem. SCSI estimates put the delivery cost of some urban two-bedroom apartments above €500,000, which helps explain why new-build prices can sit far above second-hand medians.
Supply is improving in places, but not cleanly enough to cool the market yet. Dublin continues to deliver roughly three-quarters of Ireland’s apartments, while quarterly completion growth remains volatile and prices are still rising.
For a serious search, a more practical budget is roughly €300,000–€325,000 for a one-bedroom, €380,000–€420,000 for a two-bedroom and €500,000–€550,000 for three bedrooms or a better-located two-bedroom. Prime Dublin 4, larger coastal apartments and premium new builds can push the normal budget into the €600,000–€800,000 range.
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How much does an apartment cost in Dublin now?
How much does a Dublin apartment actually cost now?
A Dublin apartment currently starts around €295,000 for a typical one-bedroom, €365,000 for a two-bedroom and €477,500 for a three-bedroom if we use Daft's current median asking prices across the county.
Those are much better benchmarks than the €495,000 figure often quoted for Dublin property. That €495,000 is the current median asking price across all homes, including houses. The CSO also puts the median price actually paid for all Dublin homes over the latest 12 months at €500,000. Neither figure tells us what apartments specifically cost.
Dublin City itself is only slightly more expensive at the apartment level. Daft currently shows medians of about €295,000 for one bedroom, €375,000 for two bedrooms and €485,000 for three.
The catch is that asking price and final purchase price can diverge. Recent Dublin apartment sales include properties finishing almost exactly at asking and others selling 10%–18% above it. We therefore see the advertised median as the centre of the search rather than a safe maximum budget.
| Apartment size | County Dublin median asking price | Dublin City median | Sensible search budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | ~€295,000 | ~€295,000 | ~€300,000–€325,000 |
| 2 bedrooms | ~€365,000 | ~€375,000 | ~€380,000–€420,000 |
| 3 bedrooms | ~€477,500 | ~€485,000 | ~€500,000–€550,000 |
Is €300,000 still enough to buy an apartment in Dublin?
Yes, €300,000 still gets you into the Dublin apartment market today, although it mostly buys a one-bedroom or a cheaper two-bedroom outside the expensive neighbourhoods.
The current Dublin-wide median for a one-bedroom apartment is €295,000, so €300,000 sits almost exactly in the middle of that market. Dublin 1 is cheaper again: Daft currently puts its one-bedroom apartment median at roughly €257,500.
Recent transactions show that these figures are real rather than theoretical. A one-bedroom apartment at Castleforbes Square in Dublin 1 recently sold for €327,000 after being listed at €325,000, while another near Parnell Street sold for €310,000 from a €295,000 asking price. In Citywest, a one-bedroom unit sold for €244,000 after an asking price of €215,000.
Two bedrooms are harder at this budget, but they still exist. Citywest's current median asking price for a two-bedroom apartment is around €285,000. Dublin commuter towns are close to €290,000. Once we move toward the city centre, Dublin 3, Dublin 4 or the stronger coastal markets, €300,000 quickly stops being enough.
So €300,000 still works as an entry budget. The compromise is usually location, apartment size, building quality or some combination of the three.
Get fresh and reliable data on the Dublin property market
New apartments are priced against what an institution will pay for a whole block rather than what one buyer should. Where asking prices sit furthest from what places actually earn and resell for.
How much does a one-bedroom apartment cost in Dublin today?
A one-bedroom apartment in Dublin costs about €295,000 at the current median, with a realistic market stretching from roughly €250,000 to well above €400,000 depending on the area and the building.
Dublin 1 gives us a useful lower-priced central benchmark. Its current one-bedroom median is around €257,500, and live listings still appear in the mid-€200,000s. Dublin City Centre as a whole is slightly higher at about €290,000.
Dublin 2 moves the midpoint to approximately €325,000. Dublin 4 reaches roughly €375,000, around €80,000 above the Dublin-wide median. Premium new developments go higher again: current Dublin 4 schemes have marketed one-bedroom apartments from around €550,000.
The spread is unusually wide for the same bedroom count. A buyer choosing between a €260,000 Dublin 1 apartment and a €550,000 new Dublin 4 apartment is technically comparing two one-bedroom homes, but they belong to very different markets.
For a normal search today, we would think in three rough bands: the mid-€200,000s for cheaper stock, around €300,000–€350,000 for the mainstream market, and €375,000-plus once prime locations or new construction become important.
How much does a two-bedroom apartment cost in Dublin now?
A two-bedroom apartment in Dublin currently costs around €365,000 at the county-wide median, although €400,000 is a much more useful real-world budget for buyers who want some choice.
The location gap becomes obvious once we compare current Daft medians. Citywest sits around €285,000. Dublin commuter towns are close to €290,000. Cherrywood is around €350,000. Dublin City is €375,000, while the city centre is approximately €395,000.
Then prices jump. Dublin 2 is currently around €495,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. Dublin 4 reaches roughly €595,000.
That puts the Dublin 4 midpoint €230,000 above the county-wide median. Put differently, the typical asking price there is about 63% higher for the same nominal bedroom count.
Individual transactions are even more revealing. A 69-square-metre two-bedroom apartment in Northwood recently sold for €356,000. In Dublin 2, a 67-square-metre apartment on Townsend Street sold for €585,000. An 87-square-metre apartment on Lad Lane sold for €878,000.
Bedroom count gets us into the right category, but postcode, size and building quality decide where inside that category the price lands.
| Area | Current 2-bed apartment asking median | Difference vs Dublin median |
|---|---|---|
| Citywest | ~€285,000 | -€80,000 |
| Dublin commuter towns | ~€290,000 | -€75,000 |
| Cherrywood | ~€350,000 | -€15,000 |
| Dublin City | ~€375,000 | +€10,000 |
| Dublin City Centre | ~€395,000 | +€30,000 |
| Dublin 2 | ~€495,000 | +€130,000 |
| Dublin 4 | ~€595,000 | +€230,000 |
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The pack also covers the repair levy waiting inside some apartment blocks, and why sale agreed means nothing here.
Why can two Dublin apartments with the same number of bedrooms cost €300,000 apart?
Two Dublin apartments can have the same number of bedrooms and still differ by several hundred thousand euros because buyers are paying for floor area, exact neighbourhood, building age, condition and development quality as well as the bedroom count.
Recent Dublin 2 transactions make that especially clear. A three-bedroom apartment measuring 108 square metres at the Corn Exchange Building sold for €675,000, while an 87-square-metre two-bedroom apartment on Lad Lane changed hands for €878,000. The smaller apartment was more expensive because the market values the specific location and property much more highly.
Dublin 4 shows a similar spread within a single bedroom category. Recent one-bedroom sales there have ranged from €350,000 for a 50-square-metre apartment on Stillorgan Road to €466,175 for a 62-square-metre apartment in Sandymount.
Price per square metre explains some of this. Daft currently estimates roughly €5,800 per square metre across Dublin property, compared with €6,400 in Dublin 1, €7,600 in Dublin 2, €7,000 in Dún Laoghaire and €8,500 in Dublin 4.
A buyer looking only at “two bedrooms” can therefore miss half the story. In Dublin today, 70 square metres in one neighbourhood may be worth more than 90 square metres somewhere else.
Is Dublin city centre always the most expensive place to buy an apartment?
No, Dublin city centre is currently cheaper than several prime southside and coastal markets, even though central apartments remain expensive per square metre.
Daft puts the current median asking price for a two-bedroom apartment in Dublin City Centre at about €395,000. Dublin 2 is already higher at €495,000, and Dublin 4 reaches €595,000.
The same pattern appears in price-per-square-metre data. Dublin City Centre is around €6,900 per square metre. Dublin 2 reaches approximately €7,600, Dublin 6 around €8,300 and Dublin 4 about €8,500.
That may look counterintuitive if we expect prices to fall neatly as we move away from the centre. Dublin does not work that way. Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Sandymount, Ranelagh, Rathmines, Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire attract buyers who are also paying for neighbourhood reputation, coastal access, schools, transport and larger high-quality apartments.
Dublin 1 makes the contrast especially clear. It is extremely central, yet its current one-bedroom apartment median is only about €257,500. Prime south Dublin can cost far more while sitting farther from the city core.
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New apartments are priced against what an institution will pay for a whole block rather than what one buyer should. Where asking prices sit furthest from what places actually earn and resell for.
Is Dublin 4 really that expensive for apartments?
Yes, Dublin 4 is currently one of the clearest examples of how expensive a prime Dublin apartment can become, with a two-bedroom median around €595,000 and individual sales already pushing much higher.
The county-wide two-bedroom apartment median is €365,000. Dublin 4 is therefore about €230,000 higher.
Its current one-bedroom median is approximately €375,000, while three bedrooms are around €695,000. Daft also estimates an average €8,500 per square metre across property in the area, compared with roughly €5,800 across Dublin.
Recent apartment sales back up those benchmarks. A 50.5-square-metre two-bedroom in Ringsend sold for €450,000. A 91-square-metre two-bedroom in Sandymount reached €867,000. One-bedroom apartments have recently sold for approximately €350,000, €392,000 and €466,175 depending on size and micro-location.
New construction takes the premium further. A current Dublin 4 development has been marketing two-bedroom apartments from about €720,000.
Anyone searching Dublin 4 should forget the €365,000 citywide two-bedroom midpoint fairly quickly. It describes Dublin as a whole much better than it describes this part of Dublin.
Do Dublin apartments actually sell for more than the asking price?
Quite often, yes: Dublin apartments are still attracting bids above asking today, although the size of the premium varies dramatically from one property to another.
Daft's broader Dublin dataset currently shows properties selling about 7.5% above asking on a typical basis. Dublin City is slightly higher at 7.9%, while Dublin City Centre sits around 8.2%.
Individual apartment sales show why applying one fixed percentage would be misleading. The Castleforbes Square one-bedroom mentioned earlier sold for €327,000 against a €325,000 asking price, a difference of less than 1%. A Citywest one-bedroom sold for €244,000 from €215,000, about 13.5% higher. In Sandymount, a one-bedroom apartment listed at €395,000 recently sold for €466,175, roughly 18% above asking.
There are also properties that finish below asking. A three-bedroom apartment in Dublin 2 recently sold for €675,000 after being marketed at €725,000.
The useful lesson from the overall 7%–8% figure is simple: list price cannot always be treated as final price. A buyer with an absolute ceiling of €400,000 probably should not build a shortlist entirely from apartments advertised at €400,000.
| Asking price | If sale ends 5% higher | 8% higher | 10% higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| €300,000 | €315,000 | €324,000 | €330,000 |
| €350,000 | €367,500 | €378,000 | €385,000 |
| €375,000 | €393,750 | €405,000 | €412,500 |
| €400,000 | €420,000 | €432,000 | €440,000 |
| €500,000 | €525,000 | €540,000 | €550,000 |
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Are Dublin apartment prices still going up?
Yes, Dublin apartment prices are still rising quite quickly today, and apartments are currently increasing faster than Dublin houses.
The latest CSO Residential Property Price Index puts annual Dublin apartment inflation at 7.0%. Dublin house prices rose 3.9% over the same period, while the overall Dublin residential index increased 4.6%.
The gap has widened recently. In the previous CSO release, Dublin apartments had been rising 6.1% year on year. The latest reading is therefore stronger even as overall Irish property-price inflation has cooled.
National residential inflation has slowed to its weakest pace since early 2024, yet Dublin apartments have moved in the other direction over the latest readings.
Apartments outside Dublin are rising even faster at 10.2%, so the capital does not have Ireland's fastest apartment inflation. Dublin's difficulty is that this 7% growth is happening from an already expensive base.
Longer-term numbers underline just how far the market has moved. The CSO says Dublin residential values overall are now 10.9% above their old pre-crash peak and 174.7% above the 2012 trough. For today's buyer, the relevant point is that apartment prices are continuing to climb after that enormous recovery rather than stabilising at the old peak.
Why are new Dublin apartments so much more expensive?
New Dublin apartments are expensive these days because building them is already extremely costly, so the premium over second-hand apartments comes partly from the economics of construction itself.
The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland calculated that an urban two-bedroom medium-rise apartment now costs roughly €523,000 to €537,000 to deliver depending on the building configuration. Those figures include the broader development cost rather than just bricks and labour.
That puts the problem into perspective. The current Dublin median asking price for a second-hand or new two-bedroom apartment combined is around €365,000, yet the estimated cost of delivering some new urban two-beds is already more than €500,000.
Government supports can bridge part of that viability gap, and the SCSI found that those interventions make far more apartment types financially viable. Affordability for the eventual buyer remains difficult: its modelling suggested combined salaries of roughly €84,000 to €129,000 for first-time buyers or fresh-start applicants purchasing the apartment types studied with current supports.
Live schemes show where prices land. New one-bedroom units in Dublin 4 are currently being advertised from around €550,000, while two bedrooms in the same development start near €720,000.
That is why buyers comparing a 15-year-old apartment with a brand-new one can see a six-figure gap even before they compare finishes or energy ratings.
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Is Dublin finally building enough apartments to slow prices down?
No clear evidence of that has appeared yet: Dublin is building most of Ireland's apartments, but the latest numbers are too uneven to suggest that supply is about to push apartment prices down.
The first quarter of this year looked encouraging. Ireland completed 2,355 apartments, up 33.3% from a year earlier, and Dublin accounted for 1,831 of them. That was 77.7% of all apartment completions nationally.
The next quarter moved sharply the other way. National apartment completions fell 12.2% year on year to 2,658, while total Dublin dwelling completions dropped 16.4%. Dublin still delivered 2,006 apartments, equal to 75.5% of the national apartment total.
Dublin City itself has become overwhelmingly apartment-led. Apartments represented 95.3% of its new homes in the first quarter and 91.4% in the second.
We are seeing serious apartment construction, especially in Dublin. We are also seeing quarterly volatility and no sustained supply surge large enough to overpower demand. The latest 7% annual rise in Dublin apartment prices fits that picture.
| Measure | Earlier quarter | Latest quarter | What changed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland apartment completions | 2,355 | 2,658 | Higher sequentially |
| Annual change | +33.3% | -12.2% | Sharp reversal |
| Dublin apartment completions | 1,831 | 2,006 | Still very high |
| Dublin share of Irish apartments | 77.7% | 75.5% | Roughly three-quarters |
| Apartments as share of Dublin City completions | 95.3% | 91.4% | Still dominant |
How much income do you need to buy a Dublin apartment?
A first-time buyer targeting a typical two-bedroom Dublin apartment currently needs roughly €82,000 of gross household income under the standard Central Bank borrowing limit, assuming a 10% deposit and no bidding above the €365,000 asking median.
The current rule allows first-time buyers to borrow up to four times gross income. Both first-time and subsequent owner-occupier buyers normally need at least a 10% deposit, although lenders have limited flexibility to lend above the standard income limits.
On a €365,000 apartment, a 10% deposit is €36,500. The mortgage would be €328,500, which corresponds to €82,125 of gross income at four times earnings.
At €500,000, the minimum deposit becomes €50,000 and the mortgage €450,000. That requires about €112,500 of gross household income.
Dublin 4 illustrates how quickly the numbers become demanding. Buying at its current €595,000 two-bedroom median with 10% down means financing €535,500. A first-time buyer using the four-times-income ceiling would need roughly €133,875 of gross household income.
The calculation becomes harder again if bidding pushes the price above asking. A €365,000 apartment selling 8% higher would cost €394,200. With 10% down, the four-times-income calculation rises to roughly €88,700.
| Purchase price | 10% deposit | 90% mortgage | Gross income at 4x |
|---|---|---|---|
| €300,000 | €30,000 | €270,000 | €67,500 |
| €365,000 | €36,500 | €328,500 | €82,125 |
| €400,000 | €40,000 | €360,000 | €90,000 |
| €500,000 | €50,000 | €450,000 | €112,500 |
| €595,000 | €59,500 | €535,500 | €133,875 |
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What does €500,000 actually buy in Dublin's apartment market?
€500,000 is a strong Dublin apartment budget today: it puts a buyer well above the typical two-bedroom price and around the middle of the three-bedroom market, although Dublin 4 and premium new developments can still be too expensive.
The numbers line up neatly. Dublin's two-bedroom apartment median is roughly €365,000, so €500,000 gives around €135,000 of headroom over the midpoint. The three-bedroom median is €477,500, which places a €500,000 budget close to the centre of that segment.
Dublin City Centre also remains very accessible at that level. Its current two-bedroom median is around €395,000 and its three-bedroom median about €482,500.
Dublin 4 looks different. A typical two-bedroom there is approximately €595,000, while the three-bedroom median is roughly €695,000. A new two-bedroom unit in one current scheme starts around €720,000.
So €500,000 provides broad choice across Dublin and can buy a larger apartment in many neighbourhoods. In the most expensive southside locations, it behaves more like a normal two-bedroom budget.
Which Dublin areas give you the most apartment for your money?
For buyers focused on price today, Citywest and the outer Dublin commuter markets give far more apartment for the money than Dublin 2 or Dublin 4, while places such as Cherrywood sit in an interesting middle ground.
Citywest's current two-bedroom apartment median is around €285,000. The Dublin commuter-town figure is roughly €290,000. Both are around €75,000–€80,000 below the Dublin-wide midpoint.
Cherrywood is closer to €350,000 for two bedrooms and €455,000 for three. Its wider property market currently averages approximately €5,600 per square metre, still well below Dublin 4's €8,500.
Dublin 1 is another interesting case for buyers who value centrality. One-bedroom apartments there have a current median of only about €257,500, despite the postcode sitting in the heart of the city. Two bedrooms are less cheap at roughly €382,500, but that is still dramatically below Dublin 4.
There is no single “best value” area because commute, neighbourhood and apartment quality matter. On price alone, though, the gap is clear: moving away from prime south Dublin can save well over €100,000 on a two-bedroom apartment without leaving County Dublin.
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So how much should you really budget for a Dublin apartment now?
As of now, we would budget around €300,000–€325,000 for a typical Dublin one-bedroom search, €380,000–€420,000 for a useful two-bedroom budget and about €500,000–€550,000 for three bedrooms or a better-located two-bedroom.
The raw market medians are slightly lower at €295,000, €365,000 and €477,500. We would leave some room above them because bidding still happens frequently and because the cheapest advertised properties can make a budget look more flexible than it really is.
Below €300,000, genuine opportunities remain, especially for one-bedroom apartments and selected two-bedroom properties around Citywest and the outer metropolitan market.
Around €400,000, the search becomes much easier. That budget reaches the current two-bedroom midpoint in Dublin City Centre and sits above the medians in several cheaper areas.
Around €500,000, buyers gain substantial freedom across the city and can seriously consider three bedrooms. Once the target shifts to Dublin 4, larger coastal apartments or brand-new premium schemes, €600,000–€800,000 becomes a normal rather than exceptional budget.
The clearest answer to “How much does an apartment cost in Dublin now?” is therefore about €300,000 for one bedroom, roughly €365,000–€375,000 for a typical two-bedroom asking price, and close to €480,000 for three bedrooms. For an actual buying budget, adding some breathing room above those figures is sensible.
| Total budget | What it buys in Dublin today | Choice |
|---|---|---|
| €250k–€300k | Mainly 1-bed; selected cheaper 2-beds | Limited |
| €300k–€350k | Broad 1-bed market; some 2-beds | Reasonable |
| €350k–€400k | Mainstream 2-bed | Good |
| €400k–€500k | Broad 2-bed market; some 3-beds | Very good |
| €500k–€600k | Many 3-beds; stronger-location 2-beds | Broad |
| €600k–€800k | Prime 2-beds, larger southside apartments, some new builds | Premium |
| €800k+ | High-end Dublin apartment market | Luxury |
OUR METHODOLOGY
This analysis looks at what a Dublin apartment actually costs to buy now by separating asking prices, achieved sale prices, location, price movement, new-build economics, supply and affordability rather than forcing them into one headline figure.
For current price levels, we prioritized fresh Daft market data and apartment-specific medians by bedroom count. Broad Dublin figures that mix houses and apartments were used only as context, because they do not answer the apartment question directly.
Recent sold examples were used to test how asking prices translate into completed transactions and to show the spread hidden inside a citywide median. They are examples of market behaviour, not replacements for the broader benchmark.
For price direction, we used the CSO Residential Property Price Index rather than asking-price data. The CSO series is designed to track property-price movements while adjusting for changes in the mix of homes sold.
Location was tested through bedroom-specific medians, price per square metre and recent sales across contrasting parts of Dublin, including Dublin 1, Dublin 2, Dublin 4, Citywest, Cherrywood, Dublin City Centre and Dún Laoghaire.
Supply was assessed using successive CSO New Dwelling Completions releases rather than a single quarter. SCSI development-cost work was used to understand the new-build premium, while Central Bank mortgage measures were used to translate purchase prices into indicative household-income requirements.
The “sensible search budgets” are our own synthesis. They combine the current asking-price midpoint, the spread across locations, recent evidence on bidding above and below asking, and the amount of choice available at different price points; we did not apply one fixed bidding premium to every apartment.
Key sources include Daft's Dublin market data, Daft's recent Dublin apartment sales, the CSO Residential Property Price Index for June 2026, CSO New Dwelling Completions Q1 2026, CSO New Dwelling Completions Q2 2026, the Central Bank of Ireland's mortgage measures, the SCSI Real Costs of New Apartment Delivery 2025 report, the Residential Property Price Register, and Knight Frank's Shore Club listing in Dublin 4.
Everything a foreign buyer should know before buying in Dublin
The pack also covers the repair levy waiting inside some apartment blocks, and why sale agreed means nothing here.
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