Get all the data you need about the real estate market in Dublin
SUMMARY
What can your budget buy in Dublin? In practical terms, under €300,000 you are mostly shopping for apartments; around €350,000 to €400,000 houses start to appear in cheaper western districts; €500,000 is the main family-home threshold; and €750,000 gives buyers strong options across most of the city.
The citywide €500,000 median hides several different Dublin markets. A two-bedroom city apartment can sit around €375,000, while a three-bedroom house is closer to €522,500 and premium southside postcodes can push ordinary family homes far higher.
Asking price is not the same as a safe bidding budget. In several lower-priced districts, recent sales have cleared roughly 10% or more above original asking, which means a buyer with a hard €500,000 ceiling often needs to search closer to €450,000 than €500,000.
The cheaper end of Dublin is not just smaller houses farther out. Below €300,000, the market changes property type: one-bedroom apartments dominate, with two-bedroom options becoming realistic mainly in Dublin 10, Dublin 22 and Dublin 24.
At about €350,000, buyers reach an interesting crossover point. A modest house becomes possible in selected outer districts, while the same budget can buy a better apartment across a much wider part of Dublin.
€500,000 is a genuine dividing line rather than a comfortable citywide family-house budget. It works in areas such as Dublin 5, Dublin 20, Dublin 22 and Dublin 24, but it is already below the typical three-bedroom level in Dublin 3, Dublin 7, Dublin 14 and Dublin 16.
The jump from apartment to house often costs another €150,000 to €220,000 within the same district. Property type can matter almost as much as postcode when buyers are trying to stretch a fixed budget.
Income can become the binding constraint before the deposit does. With a 10% deposit, a €500,000 purchase needs roughly €112,500 of gross household income for a standard first-time-buyer mortgage, while €600,000 pushes that requirement to about €135,000.
Current mortgage costs are still substantial even after rates eased slightly. At a 3.48% benchmark, financing 90% of a €500,000 home over 30 years is about €2,016 a month before insurance, maintenance and other ownership costs.
Buyer-support schemes help most when the buyer is targeting a qualifying new build, especially an apartment. They are much less powerful when the real problem is that household income cannot support the mortgage required for a family house.
Waiting a year is not an obvious affordability strategy. Price growth has cooled, but Dublin prices are still rising, mortgage demand remains strong and supply is improving too unevenly to make a broad price decline the base case.
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What can your budget buy in Dublin?
How expensive is a normal Dublin home now?
A normal Dublin home currently costs about €500,000, but that number is only a starting point because the type of property and postcode can move the price by several hundred thousand euros.
The latest CSO transaction data puts Dublin's median purchase price at €500,000 over the most recent 12-month period. MyHome, looking at newly advertised properties, puts the median Dublin asking price at €495,000. The two numbers are unusually close, although buyers should not read that as proof that homes are generally selling near asking price. MyHome found Dublin sales completing around 9–10% above their original asking prices in May and June.
Property type makes an immediate difference. Current Daft data puts a typical two-bedroom Dublin City apartment at roughly €375,000, while a three-bedroom house is closer to €522,500 and a four-bedroom house around €800,000.
Then there is postcode. The CSO puts the median transaction price in Dublin 17 at €337,000, compared with €765,000 in Dublin 6 and €851,750 in Blackrock's A94 Eircode. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown as a whole is at €682,334.
So when we talk about a €500,000 Dublin market, we are really describing the midpoint of several very different housing markets.
| Dublin benchmark | Current level | What it represents | What it tells us |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin median transaction price | €500,000 | Latest CSO completed sales | Middle of the actual market |
| Dublin median new asking price | €495,000 | MyHome new listings | Typical starting price |
| Dublin City 2-bed apartment | €375,000 | Daft median asking | Main apartment entry point |
| Dublin City 3-bed house | €522,500 | Daft median asking | Typical family-house level |
| Dublin City 4-bed house | €800,000 | Daft median asking | Much higher family budget |
| Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown median sale | €682,334 | CSO completed sales | Premium south Dublin pricing |
If your budget is €500,000, should you bid on a €500,000 Dublin home?
Usually no. A €500,000 maximum budget in Dublin currently means looking below €500,000 because competitive homes are still selling well above their original asking prices.
MyHome found a median Dublin premium of roughly 9–10% over asking in May and June. Daft's postcode data shows an even wider spread in some lower-priced areas: recent sales averaged around 11.3% above asking in Dublin 24, 10.7% in Dublin 11, 12.6% in Dublin 12 and 13.7% in Dublin 22. Dublin 6 was lower, although still substantial, at roughly 8.3%.
At a 10% premium, a home advertised at €450,000 finishes at €495,000. A €475,000 listing reaches about €522,500. So searching right up to your maximum can leave you unable to make the final rounds of bidding.
Recent individual transactions tell the same story. A three-bedroom terrace in Tallaght was listed at €335,000 and sold for €378,000. A two-bedroom apartment in Clonsilla moved from €315,000 to €372,000. A Citywest one-bedroom apartment advertised at €215,000 eventually sold for €244,000.
This is particularly important in Dublin's supposedly affordable districts. Buyers often move west to escape the highest prices, only to meet stronger percentage bidding premiums on the limited stock everyone else can afford.
There are also buying costs outside the bid itself. Residential stamp duty is currently 1% on the portion of a purchase up to €1 million, so a €500,000 home creates a €5,000 stamp-duty bill before legal fees, survey costs, valuation and any immediate work.
| Maximum final budget | Listing price at +5% | Listing price at +10% | Listing price at +13% | Stamp duty at final price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €350,000 | €333,000 | €318,000 | €310,000 | €3,500 |
| €400,000 | €381,000 | €364,000 | €354,000 | €4,000 |
| €500,000 | €476,000 | €455,000 | €442,000 | €5,000 |
| €600,000 | €571,000 | €545,000 | €531,000 | €6,000 |
| €750,000 | €714,000 | €682,000 | €664,000 | €7,500 |
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.
Can you still buy a Dublin property for €250,000?
Yes, but €250,000 is currently a small-apartment budget in Dublin, with very little room for a conventional house.
Dublin 24 is one of the clearest places to look. Daft puts the median one-bedroom apartment asking price there at roughly €245,000, while two-bedroom apartments are closer to €275,000. The Citywest sale mentioned above shows how tight that lower end has become: €215,000 asking turned into a €244,000 final price.
Dublin 10 also has cheaper apartments, although even its median two-bedroom unit is now around €265,000. In Dublin 1, a 39 m² one-bedroom apartment on Jervis Place was recently advertised at €265,000. Dublin 13 one-bedroom apartments are closer to €285,000.
At €250,000, the realistic search is therefore a one-bedroom apartment, an older unit, a small property or something in one of the cheaper western districts. Listings below the budget still exist. Completing the purchase below that ceiling is harder once bidding starts.
A standard three-bedroom Dublin house is effectively outside this budget today.
What can €300,000 buy in Dublin now?
A €300,000 Dublin budget now gives buyers a real apartment search, including some two-bedroom options in cheaper districts, but houses remain rare.
Across Dublin City, the median one-bedroom apartment asking price is around €295,000. Dublin 3 is also close to €295,000, Dublin 13 roughly €285,000 and Dublin 24 around €245,000.
The bigger difference appears when we move west. Median two-bedroom apartment asking prices are about €265,000 in Dublin 10, €267,500 in Dublin 22 and €275,000 in Dublin 24. In those areas, €300,000 can buy a proper two-bedroom search rather than forcing the buyer into the smallest one-bedroom stock.
Houses are another matter. Dublin 22's median two-bedroom house is around €327,500, while Dublin 10 is approximately €345,000. Both are already above the budget before any bidding premium.
For €300,000, Dublin currently offers reasonable apartment choice but very little dependable house choice.
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.
Is €350,000 enough to buy a house in Dublin?
Yes, €350,000 can buy a house in Dublin today, although the search is concentrated in a small number of cheaper districts and bidding can quickly push attractive homes over the limit.
Dublin 10 is one of the strongest examples. Daft puts its median three-bedroom house asking price at about €317,500 and its two-bedroom house median around €345,000. Dublin 22 has a median two-bedroom house around €327,500, while Dublin 11's overall median property asking price is roughly €345,000.
Those headline numbers need a buffer. Dublin 11 homes have recently sold around 10.7% above original asking prices, while Dublin 22 has averaged roughly 13.7%. A house listed at €315,000 could therefore finish around €349,000 to €358,000 depending on the level of competition.
Apartments give buyers much more room at the same budget. Median two-bedroom apartment prices are around €265,000 in Dublin 10, €267,500 in Dublin 22, €275,000 in Dublin 24, €330,000 in Dublin 13 and €345,000 in Dublin 5.
At roughly €350,000, the buyer finally has a meaningful choice: a modest house in selected outer districts or a better apartment across a much wider part of Dublin.
| Area | Relevant current price | What €350k can realistically target | Main issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin 10 | €317,500 | Median 3-bed house | Limited choice |
| Dublin 11 | €345,000 | Property near overall median | Bidding |
| Dublin 22 | €327,500 | Median 2-bed house | Strong bidding |
| Dublin 24 | €275,000 | Median 2-bed apartment | Houses cost more |
| Dublin 13 | €330,000 | Median 2-bed apartment | Most houses above budget |
| Dublin 5 | €345,000 | Median 2-bed apartment | 3-bed houses near €500k |
What can €400,000 buy in Dublin today?
€400,000 is currently enough to give Dublin buyers genuine choices between a house farther out and an apartment much closer to the centre.
Dublin 22 has a median three-bedroom house asking price around €390,000. Dublin 24's overall median asking price is roughly €375,000, while three-bedroom duplexes sit around €370,000. Dublin 10's three-bedroom house median is lower again at approximately €317,500.
Closer to central Dublin, the same budget generally buys an apartment or smaller house. Dublin 7's median two-bedroom apartment is around €375,000. Dublin 3 is about €395,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, while a two-bedroom house there sits near €375,000. In Dublin 2, median one-bedroom apartments are around €325,000.
Recent sales also show why €400,000 should not be treated as a €400,000 listing search. The Tallaght house that sold for €378,000 started at €335,000, while the Clonsilla apartment that reached €372,000 began at €315,000.
At this budget, the question becomes fairly simple: do we want more space farther from the centre, or less space in a stronger location?
The areas and new schemes in Dublin that are most overpriced
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.
Does €500,000 buy a normal family house in Dublin?
Yes, €500,000 currently buys a normal three-bedroom family house in several parts of Dublin, but it falls just short of the typical three-bedroom house across Dublin City as a whole.
Daft puts the Dublin City median three-bedroom house asking price at roughly €522,500. That makes €500,000 a genuine dividing line rather than an obviously comfortable family-home budget.
In Dublin 5, the median three-bedroom house is about €499,500. Dublin 20 is around €477,500, Dublin 22 roughly €390,000 and Dublin 24 about €425,000. Current listings also include three-bedroom homes around the €495,000 mark in areas such as Palmerstown and parts of Dublin 16.
Go into established inner or southside districts and the same budget buys much less. Dublin 7's median three-bedroom house is roughly €572,500, Dublin 3's €587,500 and Dublin 16's €640,000. Dublin 14 is close to €695,000.
So €500,000 is enough for the familiar three-bedroom Dublin house, provided the postcode stays flexible.
What gets noticeably better with a €600,000 Dublin budget?
At €600,000, Dublin buyers can currently choose between several good family-home locations instead of searching mainly around affordability.
Dublin 3 has a median three-bedroom house asking price around €587,500. Dublin 7 sits near €572,500, Dublin 13 around €525,000 and Dublin 5 near €499,500. Dublin 16 is slightly above the budget at roughly €640,000.
The same €600,000 behaves very differently in Dublin 4. There, a typical two-bedroom house is around €600,000 and a two-bedroom apartment approximately €595,000. A recently advertised two-bedroom terrace in Sandymount came to market at €545,000.
That is what the extra money buys. In many north, west and inner-city districts, €600,000 reaches a three-bedroom family home. Around Ballsbridge, Donnybrook or Sandymount, it can still mean two bedrooms.
This is the budget where neighbourhood preference starts carrying almost as much weight as the need for space.
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What can €750,000 buy in Dublin?
€750,000 is a strong Dublin budget today and can buy a good family home across most of the city, although the most expensive southside and coastal districts still stretch beyond it.
Dublin 14's median three-bedroom house is approximately €695,000. Dublin 16 is around €640,000, with four-bedroom houses closer to €790,000. Dublin 13's three-bedroom median sits around €525,000, which leaves much more room for condition, size or a better street.
Dublin 4 remains expensive even at this level. Its overall median asking price is around €795,000, while a median three-bedroom house costs approximately €940,000. Two-bedroom houses are closer to €600,000, two-bedroom apartments around €595,000 and three-bedroom apartments about €695,000.
Completed-sale data gives another useful comparison. The latest CSO median for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is €682,334, so €750,000 sits above the middle of that large premium market. But Dublin 6 has a €765,000 median transaction price, while Blackrock's A94 Eircode reaches €851,750.
In most of Dublin, €750,000 buys both a good postcode and family-sized space. In the elite districts, buyers still have to compromise somewhere.
What does €1 million buy in Dublin now?
€1 million currently buys a premium Dublin home across most of the city, although it still does not unlock every large house in Dublin 4, Dublin 6 or the prime coastal suburbs.
Recent Daft data puts the average sold price in Dublin 6 at roughly €1.03 million, with average asking prices around €1.05 million. In Dublin 4, the median three-bedroom house is approximately €940,000, while four-bedroom houses reach close to €1.87 million.
That jump from three to four bedrooms is striking. A buyer can spend around €1 million and still find that the larger period houses in the most sought-after districts sit hundreds of thousands of euros higher.
Elsewhere, €1 million puts buyers firmly into the upper end of the market. Dublin 14's median four-bedroom house is roughly €895,000, Dublin 16's about €790,000 and Dublin 13's around €780,000.
At this level, buyers are mostly deciding how much they are willing to pay for a specific postcode rather than whether they can find a substantial home.
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How much cheaper are Dublin apartments than houses?
Dublin apartments are currently much cheaper than family houses, and between roughly €300,000 and €500,000 they are the clearest way to cut the entry price by six figures.
Across Dublin City, the median two-bedroom apartment is around €375,000, compared with roughly €522,500 for a three-bedroom house. The difference is €147,500.
The gap becomes larger in several established districts. Dublin 5 is around €345,000 for a two-bedroom apartment versus €499,500 for a three-bedroom house. Dublin 7 is roughly €375,000 versus €572,500. Dublin 14 is approximately €475,000 versus €695,000.
Those differences also change the income needed to buy. A €375,000 purchase with a 10% deposit requires a €337,500 mortgage. Under the standard first-time-buyer loan-to-income limit of four times salary, that points to about €84,400 of gross household income. A €522,500 house with the same 10% deposit requires roughly €117,600.
Apartment buyers still need to check annual management fees, sinking funds, building condition and any fire-safety or remediation issues. Those costs can vary sharply from one development to another.
| Area | 2-bed apartment | 3-bed house | Price gap | House premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin City | €375,000 | €522,500 | €147,500 | 39% |
| Dublin 3 | €395,000 | €587,500 | €192,500 | 49% |
| Dublin 5 | €345,000 | €499,500 | €154,500 | 45% |
| Dublin 7 | €375,000 | €572,500 | €197,500 | 53% |
| Dublin 14 | €475,000 | €695,000 | €220,000 | 46% |
| Dublin 24 | €275,000 | €425,000 | €150,000 | 55% |
How much income do you need to buy in Dublin?
A first-time buyer currently needs about €90,000 of gross household income to finance a €400,000 Dublin home with a 10% deposit, rising to €112,500 for €500,000 and €135,000 for €600,000.
The Central Bank allows first-time buyers to borrow up to four times gross annual income under the standard mortgage rules. Second and subsequent buyers are generally limited to 3.5 times gross income. Both groups can normally borrow up to 90% of the property's value.
A €500,000 home with a 10% deposit therefore needs a €450,000 mortgage. At four times income, that works out at €112,500 of household earnings. A €600,000 purchase needs €135,000. At €750,000, the same calculation reaches €168,750.
This is why having the deposit does not necessarily mean a buyer can afford the corresponding Dublin home. Someone may have €60,000 in cash but still be capped well below a €600,000 purchase by the income test.
| Purchase price | 10% deposit | 90% mortgage | FTB income at 4× | Subsequent buyer income at 3.5× |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €300,000 | €30,000 | €270,000 | €67,500 | €77,100 |
| €350,000 | €35,000 | €315,000 | €78,750 | €90,000 |
| €400,000 | €40,000 | €360,000 | €90,000 | €102,900 |
| €500,000 | €50,000 | €450,000 | €112,500 | €128,600 |
| €600,000 | €60,000 | €540,000 | €135,000 | €154,300 |
| €750,000 | €75,000 | €675,000 | €168,750 | €192,900 |
| €1,000,000 | €100,000 | €900,000 | €225,000 | €257,100 |
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What would a Dublin mortgage cost every month now?
At the latest average Irish mortgage rate, financing 90% of a €500,000 home over 30 years comes to roughly €2,016 a month before insurance, maintenance and other ownership costs.
The Central Bank currently puts the weighted average interest rate on new Irish mortgage agreements at 3.48%. New fixed-rate mortgages average slightly less at 3.44%, and fixed loans account for 94% of new mortgage agreements, so the market is still overwhelmingly fixed-rate.
Using 3.48% as a common benchmark, a €360,000 mortgage on a €400,000 property costs about €1,613 per month over 30 years. A €450,000 mortgage on a €500,000 property is roughly €2,016, while €540,000 borrowed for a €600,000 home comes to around €2,419.
Every extra €100,000 of purchase price with a 10% deposit therefore adds roughly €403 a month at this rate. That is close to €4,840 a year.
Actual lender offers will differ by loan-to-value ratio, fixed period, energy rating and borrower profile, but these figures give a useful current scale.
| Purchase price | 10% deposit | Mortgage | Approx. 30-year payment at 3.48% | Approx. annual payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €300,000 | €30,000 | €270,000 | €1,209 | €14,513 |
| €400,000 | €40,000 | €360,000 | €1,613 | €19,351 |
| €500,000 | €50,000 | €450,000 | €2,016 | €24,188 |
| €600,000 | €60,000 | €540,000 | €2,419 | €29,026 |
| €750,000 | €75,000 | €675,000 | €3,024 | €36,282 |
| €1,000,000 | €100,000 | €900,000 | €4,031 | €48,376 |
Can first-time-buyer schemes stretch a Dublin budget much further?
First-time-buyer schemes can currently solve part of the deposit or funding gap on a Dublin new build, but they do much less for buyers whose income is already too low for the mortgage they need.
Revenue's Help to Buy scheme can refund qualifying buyers up to €30,000, with the amount capped at 10% of the property's value and by the Income Tax and DIRT paid during the previous four qualifying tax years. It applies to eligible new homes and self-builds rather than ordinary second-hand purchases.
The First Home Scheme can add shared-equity funding for eligible buyers. In Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin, the current qualifying property ceiling is €500,000.
That €500,000 ceiling sits very close to Dublin's €500,000 median transaction price, so the scheme reaches the middle of the market but not much of the more expensive family-house stock.
New-home supply also affects how useful these schemes are. According to the latest CSO completions data, Dublin accounted for more than a third of all new homes completed nationally in the second quarter, but Dublin completions were down 16.4% year on year. Apartments made up 75.5% of Irish apartment completions in Dublin, and 91.4% of all new Dublin City homes completed during the quarter were apartments.
For a first-time buyer happy with a new apartment, support can make a real difference. Buyers looking specifically for a new three- or four-bedroom house still face a much thinner pool of stock.
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What each area costs, how long a place sits before it sells, and what the law will let you charge in rent. Plus the things nobody writes down: the repair levy waiting inside some apartment blocks, and why sale agreed means nothing here.
Do you still get much more for your money in west and north Dublin?
Yes. A fixed budget generally buys considerably more space in west Dublin and parts of north Dublin than in the established southside districts, although the useful comparison these days is postcode by postcode rather than simply north versus south.
At around €500,000, Dublin 5 offers a median three-bedroom house near €499,500 and Dublin 13 around €525,000. Dublin 3 is already closer to €587,500.
The western districts go much lower. Dublin 22's median three-bedroom house is about €390,000, Dublin 24's around €425,000 and Dublin 10's approximately €317,500.
Compare those figures with roughly €640,000 for a three-bedroom house in Dublin 16, €695,000 in Dublin 14 and €940,000 in Dublin 4. The difference between Dublin 10 and Dublin 4 is more than €600,000 for the same broad three-bedroom property category.
The trade-off stays visible at higher budgets too. Around €600,000 can buy a three-bedroom house in Dublin 3 or Dublin 7, while in Dublin 4 the same money is closer to a two-bedroom house or apartment.
For buyers who care most about space, moving west or into selected northside areas still produces the largest jump in what the budget can buy. Buyers paying southside premiums are spending heavily on location, schools, transport, neighbourhood and proximity rather than simply on extra square metres.
Is there enough housing for Dublin buyers to become less aggressive?
No, not yet. Dublin has a little more visible stock for sale now, but supply is still tight enough that buyers are competing hard for well-priced homes.
MyHome counted 14,200 properties for sale nationally in June, up from 12,600 a year earlier, while 18,900 new listings had appeared during the first half of the year, 1.3% more than during the same period previously.
That improvement looks less impressive beside the size of the housing stock. MyHome estimates that only around 2% of Ireland's 2.2 million homes are currently turning over each year, the weakest existing-home liquidity since 2014. At that pace, the average dwelling changes hands only once every 50 years.
New construction is helping, but unevenly. Dublin's completions fell 16.4% year on year in the latest quarter after a much stronger previous quarter. The city is also building a very apartment-heavy mix: 91.4% of Dublin City completions in that quarter were apartments.
Meanwhile buyer demand remains strong. BPFI recorded 6,253 mortgage approvals in July, up 14.4% from a year earlier and the highest monthly volume since its series began in 2011. First-time buyers alone accounted for 3,575 approvals, or 57.2% of the total.
There is more choice than a year ago, but nowhere near enough evidence yet to say Dublin has become an easy market for buyers.
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.
Will waiting a year make the same Dublin budget buy more?
Probably not. Dublin prices are still rising today, mortgage demand remains strong and the extra housing supply coming through is not consistent enough to make a broad price drop the obvious next move.
The latest CSO Residential Property Price Index has Dublin prices 4.6% higher than a year earlier. House prices rose 3.9%, while apartments increased 7.0%. MyHome separately recorded 4.5% annual asking-price growth in Dublin.
The pace has cooled. National annual property-price growth is now at its lowest level since early 2024, and MyHome noted that official transaction prices had their softest start to a year since 2020. That points to a market losing some speed rather than moving into reverse.
Mortgage rates have also eased compared with a year ago, although only modestly. The latest weighted average new mortgage rate is 3.48%. At the same time, the record July mortgage-approval volume shows plenty of buyers still have financing and are looking for homes.
Supply remains mixed as well. Listings are up, but existing-home turnover is historically weak, while Dublin's latest quarterly completions fell 16.4%.
Waiting can still improve an individual buyer's position if salary, deposit savings or borrowing capacity rise faster than property prices. Relying on Dublin itself to become materially cheaper over the next year is a much weaker bet.
So what can your budget actually buy in Dublin?
What a Dublin budget can buy today depends heavily on whether the buyer is flexible about postcode and property type, and the difference between those choices is often worth €100,000 to €300,000.
Below €300,000, Dublin is mainly an apartment market. One-bedroom homes remain possible, while two-bedroom apartments start to become realistic in areas such as Dublin 10, Dublin 22 and Dublin 24.
At around €350,000, houses begin to appear in selected western and northwestern districts. €400,000 gives buyers a much more serious choice between a three-bedroom home farther out and an apartment closer to central Dublin.
€500,000 is the main turning point. It is roughly Dublin's median completed-sale price and can buy a normal three-bedroom family house in areas including Dublin 5, Dublin 20, Dublin 22 and Dublin 24. It does not comfortably reach the same house in Dublin 3, Dublin 7, Dublin 14 or Dublin 16.
At €600,000, buyers can choose between several established family-home districts and smaller properties in premium locations. €750,000 covers strong family-house options across most of Dublin. Around €1 million, the search becomes premium almost everywhere, although larger houses in Dublin 4, Dublin 6 and prime coastal areas can still cost far more.
The useful way to think about Dublin is through trade-offs. Moving from an apartment to a house can add €150,000–€220,000 in several districts. Moving from west Dublin into an established southside postcode can add several hundred thousand euros again.
Buyers who want a central or prestigious postcode, a family-sized house and good condition at the same time still need a very large budget. Relaxing just one of those requirements changes the Dublin search dramatically.
The areas and new schemes in Dublin that are most overpriced
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.
OUR METHODOLOGY
What can my budget actually buy in Dublin? sounds simple, but a citywide average does not answer it very well. Dublin is made up of sharply different property markets, so we broke the question into the dimensions that most directly change what a buyer can realistically afford: property type, postcode, bidding pressure, financing, buyer support and current supply.
We prioritized official transaction, mortgage, tax, housing-supply and buyer-support data for the underlying market, then used current property-market data where we needed a more granular view of asking prices, property types, postcodes and the gap between asking and sale prices.
The budget levels are treated as practical purchasing thresholds rather than arbitrary round numbers. A budget only counts as realistically reaching a part of the market when current asking levels, recent sale behaviour and likely bidding leave a credible route to completing the purchase.
Where competition matters, we looked beyond the advertised price and used recent asking-to-sale premiums to test how much room a buyer may need below the absolute ceiling. We also compared similar property types across postcodes wherever possible so the effect of location is not confused with differences in the kinds of homes available.
Affordability was assessed separately from property prices. We translated purchase prices into deposits, mortgage requirements and household-income thresholds using the prevailing Central Bank mortgage rules, then used current mortgage-rate data and a common 30-year repayment term to put those budgets onto the same monthly-cost scale.
For the forward-looking sections, we did not rely on a single price forecast. We read recent price momentum alongside mortgage demand, borrowing costs, resale availability and new-home completions to judge whether conditions were genuinely becoming easier for buyers or simply changing pace.
Key sources used for this analysis include: CSO Residential Property Price Index, June 2026, CSO New Dwelling Completions, Q2 2026, Central Bank of Ireland mortgage measures, Central Bank of Ireland retail interest rates, Revenue residential stamp-duty rates, Revenue Help to Buy guidance, First Home Scheme eligibility, First Home Scheme property-price ceilings, BPFI mortgage approvals for July 2026, MyHome Q2 2026 Property Report, and Daft's current Dublin City and postcode property pages for asking-price and property-type benchmarks.
What developers and agents promise that you should never pay for
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- Are property prices in Dublin still rising?
- How much does an apartment cost in Dublin now?
- How much does a townhouse cost in Dublin now?
