Dublin's Residential Market

Ireland's residential market is one of the most structurally compelling investment opportunities in European real estate. A chronic undersupply of housing, strong population growth, near full employment and a uniquely young population sit alongside a government that has repositioned itself as a partner to institutional capital, aiming to keep housing policy stable and predictable so that private finance, much of it international, can do the heavy lifting.

Dublin apartment completions reached 9,040 units in 2023, fell to 6,568 in 2024, and recovered to 9,622 in 2025. JLL Research forecasts a further, modest recovery to approximately 9,685 units in 2026 and 10,304 in 2027. Despite this recovery, the 2024 Report of the Housing Commission concluded that Ireland requires between 19,600 and 36,400 new apartments a year to satisfy housing needs. Over the last ten years, 77% of apartment completions have taken place in Dublin, which places the annual target for the county at an estimated 14,500 units. Even at the elevated output levels projected for 2026 and 2027, annual Dublin apartment completions will fall short by an estimated 31%. Each year of shortfall compounds the deficit from the last, placing sustained upward pressure on rents.

• 5.5 million: Ireland's population (CSO estimate, April 2026)
• 27%: share of the population under 20, the highest in the EU
• €10.9 billion: total living sector investment in Ireland, 2017 to YTD 2026
• 87%: share of that investment from foreign capital

Following the rate driven correction of 2023 and 2024, when annual living sector volumes fell to €435 million and €481 million respectively, some 56% below the ten-year average, capital is re-entering the market. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, signalled its conviction with the €212 million acquisition of Newmarket Yards in Dublin 8 in Q1 2026, a deal reinforced by Quantum Immobilien's purchase of Quayside Quarter in Dublin's North Docks for an estimated €180 million. Prime Dublin multifamily yields stand at 4.70% in Q3 2026.

Download the full JLL Dublin Living Market Report for the complete investment case, including Ireland's macro fundamentals, the supply and planning picture, the regulatory outlook, and the capital markets analysis behind these numbers.