Stillorgan-Leopardstown Tops Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown at 6.9%

Yields across 69 areas in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown range from 6.9% in Stillorgan-Leopardstown down to roughly 5.7% at the county median, with premium coastal areas trailing further. That spread is wider than the gap between any two property strategies at the county level, which means WHERE you buy in this corner of south Dublin matters more than how you let it. This ranking shows which divisions lead on gross yield and the geography behind the pattern.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is one of Ireland's most expensive rental markets, with 3-bed houses transacting at a county median of €635,000, well above the Eastern and Midland regional median of €365,314. Yet within the county, entry prices vary by more than €240,000 between the cheapest and most expensive areas, and rents do not vary in lockstep. That mismatch is the source of every yield difference below.

Stillorgan-Leopardstown Leads at 6.9%, Driven by Strong Rents Against a Mid-Range Entry

Gross yields = annual rent / sale price. Based on 3-bed house medians. The dashboard shows every property type and bedroom count.

Why the Top Three Lead: Mid-Tier Entry Prices Paired with Premium-Adjacent Rents

Stillorgan-Leopardstown tops the table at 6.9% because it sits in a sweet spot for long-term renters: close enough to the M50, the LUAS Green Line, and the Sandyford business park to attract professional tenants, but priced below the coastal Dún Laoghaire and Killiney divisions. At €610,907, entry costs roughly €24,000 below the county median, while monthly rent of €3,500 sits above the county average of €3,018. That combination, lower price with above-average rent, is what produces a market-leading yield.

Clonskeagh-Belfield achieves 6.8% through a different mechanism. At €480,255, it is the cheapest entry point on the ranked list, reflecting a housing stock that skews toward older terraces and smaller units within Dublin 4 and Dublin 6 fringes. Rent of €2,735 is modest in absolute terms, but proximity to UCD and the Belfield campus generates persistent demand from postgraduate students, academic staff, and tech professionals working in the Sandyford-Leopardstown corridor. Long-term tenant turnover is low, which matters more than headline rent in net terms.

Cabinteely-Loughlinstown rounds out the top three at 6.7%. Cabinteely and Loughlinstown sit on the southern edge of the county, with good road links to the N11 and Cherrywood's expanding employment base. Entry at €571,622 undercuts both the Dún Laoghaire seafront and the Dundrum core, while monthly rent of €3,200 reflects family-suitable housing stock that commands a steady premium over comparable inland divisions.

None of these three areas are realistic candidates for short-term letting under current Irish law. Ireland is a nationwide Rent Pressure Zone, and short-term letting of an entire investor-owned property without it being the host's principal private residence is not legally available. Every yield decision in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is therefore a long-term rental decision.

The Yield-Price Trade-Off: Cheaper Divisions Yield More Because Rents Don't Fall as Fast as Prices

The pattern across Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is the same one that shows up in every Irish county: rents are stickier than prices. A 3-bed house in Clonskeagh-Belfield sells for roughly 24% less than the county median of €635,000, but its rent of €2,735 is only about 9% below the county average. That gap is the entire reason yields rise as you move away from the most prestigious postcodes.

An investor entering at €610,907 in Stillorgan-Leopardstown versus €635,000 at the county median faces a meaningfully different capital-risk profile. Lower entry means lower deposit, smaller mortgage, and less exposure to a price correction. The catch is capital growth: south Dublin's premium coastal divisions have historically led the county on appreciation, and a yield-led purchase trades some of that upside for stronger income today.

Premium Coastal and Inner-South Divisions for Context

For context, here is how some of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown's most in-demand areas compare. These are established areas where investors typically accept lower yields in exchange for capital growth, liquidity, and tenant quality.

High-demand divisions for context. Same methodology as the yield ranking above.

These divisions, the coastal Killiney, Dalkey, and Blackrock-Monkstown belt plus the Dundrum core, yield less on long-term rental because buyers are paying for amenity, school catchments, and historic capital growth, not income. The short-term yield column is constrained by the same Rent Pressure Zone rules that apply countywide: investor-owned short-term letting is not legally available, so the headline short-term figure represents a hypothetical based on nightly rates and occupancy that would only be achievable if the owner lived in the property and let it for under 90 nights per year.

What the Ranking Doesn't Capture

Yield is rent divided by price, and a high yield can mean either strong rent or a depressed price. Clonskeagh-Belfield's 6.8% reflects an entry price of €480,255 that is partly suppressed by older housing stock and smaller floor plates. An investor buying at the median is not buying the same physical asset they would get in Dalkey Upper for €641,262. Comparing yields without comparing what you actually own is a recipe for misjudging the trade-off.

The ranking also does not capture capital growth, vacancy risk, or the depth of the rental pool in each division. Premium coastal divisions have historically delivered better total returns over a 10-year horizon when you combine income and appreciation, even though their yields look weaker today. Some of the higher-yielding outer divisions also have thinner rental pools, which raises vacancy risk between tenancies. And medians can lag in fast-moving areas, particularly where new build supply is coming online around Cherrywood and Cabinteely.

View Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in the dashboard → Free preview · every bedroom count and property type

Regional Context: The Top Division Beats the National Median, the County Median Trails It

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown's county-median yield of 5.7% sits below both the Eastern and Midland regional median of 7.4% and the national median of 6.7%. That is the price you pay for buying in one of Ireland's most expensive rental markets: capital is heavier, so income looks lighter as a percentage. The top-yielding division, Stillorgan-Leopardstown at 6.9%, clears the national median, while the lowest-yielding premium coastal divisions trail it by a meaningful margin. The point is not that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is a poor yield market, it is that the county only delivers competitive yield if you buy with intent in the right division.

Regulatory Context: Every Strategy Here Is Long-Term Letting

Ireland is a nationwide Rent Pressure Zone, and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown sits firmly inside it. Annual rent increases on existing tenancies are capped at 2% per year (or HICP if lower). Short-term letting of an entire property requires it to be the owner's principal private residence, which removes investor-owned short-term letting as a legal option for any of the areas on these tables. From 20 May 2026, all short-term hosts must register on the Fáilte Ireland Short-Term Letting Register and platforms must display registration numbers on every listing.

For investors, this simplifies the question: long-term letting is the strategy, and area selection is the lever. Stillorgan-Leopardstown, Clonskeagh-Belfield, and Cabinteely-Loughlinstown offer the strongest income outcomes today; the premium coastal divisions offer the stronger capital-growth thesis. The dashboard lets you compare every division's price, rent, and net yield at every bedroom count and property type.

Data reflects market conditions as of April 2026.

For methodology detail, see our market score methodology and data sources. You can also explore rental data in the dashboard to drill into any specific area. For a comparable analysis in an adjacent market, see Dublin City Delivers 7.5% Gross Yields Without Short-Term Rental.

This information is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial or legal advice. Regulations and market conditions change frequently. Verify current rules with local authorities before making investment decisions.