Rent vs Buy in Ireland: The Real Numbers, County by County (2025)
The conventional wisdom in Ireland is that renting is dead money and buying is always better. But is it? We combined RTB rent data for 2025 with PPR median sale prices for 2024 across all 26 counties to run the numbers for real — and the answer is more nuanced than most people expect.
In 4 counties, the monthly mortgage payment is actually lower than the average rent. In Dublin, the mortgage is €235 per month cheaper than renting. So why isn't everyone buying? Because the real barrier isn't the monthly payment — it's the deposit.
Counties: mortgage < rent
4 of 26
Longford, Roscommon, Leitrim, Limerick
Easiest deposit to save
16 months
Longford: €18,100 deposit = 16.1 months rent
Dublin after 10 years
€283K equity
vs €295K rent paid — nearly identical
Monthly: Rent vs Mortgage Payment
In most counties, the mortgage principal + interest is surprisingly close to — and sometimes below — the average rent. In Longford, the mortgage is €343/month cheaper than rent. Even in Dublin, the €1,912 monthly mortgage is €235 less than the €2,147 average rent. Only in Wicklow (€1,798 mortgage vs €1,710 rent) does the mortgage clearly exceed rent.
Green mortgage bars = buying is cheaper per month. Amber = renting is cheaper per month. Mortgage shown is principal + interest only (P&I).
The Deposit Barrier
If the mortgage is often cheaper than rent, why isn't everyone buying? The 10% deposit. While it sounds straightforward, saving it while paying high rent is the real obstacle. The chart below shows how many months of rent equal the deposit needed — in other words, how long you'd need to save your entire rent payment (unrealistic, but it illustrates the scale).
In reality you'd save a fraction of your rent each month — making the timeline much longer. If you can save 20% of take-home after rent, it takes 5× longer.
After 10 Years: What Would You Own?
If you buy a home and sell it 10 years later, you walk away with cash — the house has grown in value and you've been paying down the loan. The green bar below shows what you'd pocket if you sold after 10 years (house value minus remaining mortgage). The purple bar shows what a renter spent over the same period — with nothing to show for it.
In Wicklow, a buyer would walk away with €30K more than a renter spent. In Dublin, they're nearly identical — but the buyer owns an asset and the renter doesn't. Assumes 3% annual property price growth and 3% annual rent inflation.
Green = what a buyer would walk away with if they sold. Purple = total rent a renter paid over the same period (and owns nothing).
Full Data: All 26 Counties
| County | Median Price | Monthly Rent | Monthly Cost to Buy | Difference | Deposit | Own After 10yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longford | €181,000 | €1,121/mo | €1,016/mo | €105/mo | €18,100 | €114,910 |
| Roscommon | €185,000 | €1,083/mo | €1,037/mo | €46/mo | €18,500 | €117,449 |
| Leitrim | €171,403 | €991/mo | €967/mo | €24/mo | €17,140 | €108,817 |
| Limerick | €280,000 | €1,536/mo | €1,524/mo | €12/mo | €28,000 | €177,761 |
| Mayo | €200,000 | €1,096/mo | €1,114/mo | +€18/mo | €20,000 | €126,972 |
| Donegal | €178,000 | €971/mo | €1,001/mo | +€30/mo | €17,800 | €113,005 |
| Cavan | €205,000 | €1,082/mo | €1,139/mo | +€57/mo | €20,500 | €130,146 |
| Sligo | €225,000 | €1,127/mo | €1,242/mo | +€115/mo | €22,500 | €142,844 |
| Monaghan | €210,000 | €1,037/mo | €1,165/mo | +€128/mo | €21,000 | €133,321 |
| Galway | €321,000 | €1,603/mo | €1,734/mo | +€131/mo | €32,100 | €203,790 |
| Carlow | €252,000 | €1,245/mo | €1,380/mo | +€135/mo | €25,200 | €159,985 |
| Tipperary | €220,000 | €1,071/mo | €1,216/mo | +€145/mo | €22,000 | €139,669 |
| Offaly | €249,000 | €1,189/mo | €1,365/mo | +€176/mo | €24,900 | €158,080 |
| Louth | €297,357 | €1,414/mo | €1,613/mo | +€199/mo | €29,736 | €188,780 |
| Kerry | €250,000 | €1,170/mo | €1,370/mo | +€200/mo | €25,000 | €158,715 |
| Dublin | €445,000 | €2,147/mo | €2,370/mo | +€223/mo | €44,500 | €282,513 |
| Laois | €266,536 | €1,227/mo | €1,455/mo | +€228/mo | €26,654 | €169,213 |
| Cork | €321,586 | €1,498/mo | €1,737/mo | +€240/mo | €32,159 | €204,162 |
| Waterford | €265,695 | €1,175/mo | €1,451/mo | +€276/mo | €26,570 | €168,679 |
| Meath | €340,000 | €1,541/mo | €1,832/mo | +€291/mo | €34,000 | €215,853 |
| Westmeath | €280,000 | €1,229/mo | €1,524/mo | +€295/mo | €28,000 | €177,761 |
| Wexford | €268,722 | €1,166/mo | €1,466/mo | +€300/mo | €26,872 | €170,601 |
| Clare | €270,000 | €1,135/mo | €1,473/mo | +€338/mo | €27,000 | €171,412 |
| Kildare | €378,855 | €1,676/mo | €2,031/mo | +€355/mo | €37,885 | €240,520 |
| Kilkenny | €300,000 | €1,199/mo | €1,627/mo | +€428/mo | €30,000 | €190,458 |
| Wicklow | €418,402 | €1,710/mo | €2,234/mo | +€523/mo | €41,840 | €265,627 |
Cost to buy = mortgage + maintenance + insurance + property tax. Difference = cost to buy minus rent. Green = buying cheaper. Amber = renting cheaper. “Own After 10yr” = what you'd walk away with if you sold (assumes 3% annual price growth).
What the Data Actually Says
The rent vs buy debate in Ireland is usually framed wrong. The question isn't “is renting cheaper?” — in most counties it isn't. The real question is “can you get the deposit together?”
- In 4 counties, buying is cheaper per month than renting right now. Longford (€343/mo cheaper), Roscommon (€46/mo), Leitrim (€24/mo) and Limerick (€12/mo). In these counties, if you have the deposit, buying is the obvious financial choice.
- In Dublin, renting costs more per month than the mortgage. Dublin's average rent of €2,147 exceeds the €1,912 mortgage payment. But the €44,500 deposit is the blocker for most people — especially when they're paying €2,147/month in rent and struggling to save.
- After 10 years, buying wins almost everywhere. In every county, a buyer has built substantial equity. A renter in Dublin has paid €295,000 in rent over 10 years and owns nothing. A buyer has built €283,000 in equity — and has an asset.
- The deposit trap is real. Even Longford's deposit (16.1 months of rent) requires significant saving while paying rent. If you can save 30% of your take-home after paying rent, it still takes over 4 years in most counties. In Dublin, closer to 6–7 years.
The data suggests the Irish government's focus on deposit supports (Help to Buy, First Home Scheme) is correctly targeted. The monthly affordability isn't the crisis — access to the deposit is.
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