Vacancy rate for offices reaches an 18-year high
Dublin's office vacancy rate hit 21pc at the end of June -- the highest level in 18 years -- with new space still being constructed even as the recession bites deeper.
But a new report from property group CB Richard Ellis has found that despite the subdued economy, office take-up in the capital "improved substantially" in the second quarter of this year compared to the previous three months.
The author of the report, CBRE's Dublin-based property economist Patrick Koucheravy, said that 29,000 s qm of office space was completed during the second quarter and that a further 78,000 s qm is slated to be finished by the end of the year.
Postponed
While 217,000 s qm of office space had been earmarked to be completed by the end of 2010, just 42pc of that figure is under construction.
Construction of much of the remainder is almost certain to be postponed.
While the office vacancy rate could rise if that space is not occupied by potential clients, Mr Koucheravy said it was unlikely that such a scenario would materialise.
He added that more than 718,000 s qm of office accommodation was vacant in the capital at the end of June, accounting for the current high vacancy rate.
The figure represented a sharp increase on the first quarter, said Mr Koucheravy, and was mainly due to the number of office completions that came on stream during the last quarter, predominantly in the city suburbs.
- John Mulligan
