26. Januar 2012 
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Dublin office market 2011 take-up on par with 10 year average
The Dublin office of CBRE today released their Dublin Office Market View Q4 2011, showing that take-up of 162,509 m² was achieved in the office sector in Dublin in 2011 which represents an increase of 24% on 2010 and more than double the level of letting activity achieved in the capital in 2009. According to Willie Dowling, who heads up the office agency team at CBRE Dublin “The Dublin office market continues to perform strongly and produced a very healthy level of letting activity in 2011, which is encouraging when you consider the economic backdrop. A total of 176 individual lettings were signed in the capital in 2011 with 58 of these lettings being signed in the last quarter of the year alone. This level of take-up is consistent with the annual average level of take-up in Dublin over the last 10 year period. Demand for office accommodation increased in Q4 2011 although it remains to be seen if demand levels will hold up over the coming quarters with some decline in activity inevitable considering the economic climate and ongoing concerns at a Eurozone level which are likely to impact on some occupiers relocation and expansion plans ”.
According to CBRE, 90 of the 176 office lettings signed in Dublin last year were to Irish companies. A further 38 lettings signed last year were to US companies and 11 were to UK companies. Although CBRE say that prime headline quoting rents remained stable in Q4, as outlined in their Outlook 2012 report earlier this month, they expect prime Dublin office rents will stabilise in 2012 at approximately €296 per square metre (€27.50 per square foot). However, the property consultants believe that rents for secondary buildings will continue to decline further over the course of the year.
CBRE also believe that there will be an increase in the volume of transactional activity in the sale of office investments over the course of 2012. According to Marie Hunt, Executive Director and Head of Research at CBRE, Ireland “The effects of announcements made in relation to the commercial property market on Budget Day last December have now clearly manifested themselves with the confirmation from the Investment Property Databank (IPD) earlier today that Irish commercial property values actually increased in Q4 2011. Psychologically, the confirmation that property values in Ireland are now showing signs of stabilisation following three years of decline is hugely important. However, it must be remembered that investor demand is firmly focussed on prime investment opportunities and for this reason, while prime yields will ultimately strengthen over the coming months, yields on secondary and provincial assets, for which appetite is limited, will continue to experience further softening”
According to CBRE, 90 of the 176 office lettings signed in Dublin last year were to Irish companies. A further 38 lettings signed last year were to US companies and 11 were to UK companies. Although CBRE say that prime headline quoting rents remained stable in Q4, as outlined in their Outlook 2012 report earlier this month, they expect prime Dublin office rents will stabilise in 2012 at approximately €296 per square metre (€27.50 per square foot). However, the property consultants believe that rents for secondary buildings will continue to decline further over the course of the year.
CBRE also believe that there will be an increase in the volume of transactional activity in the sale of office investments over the course of 2012. According to Marie Hunt, Executive Director and Head of Research at CBRE, Ireland “The effects of announcements made in relation to the commercial property market on Budget Day last December have now clearly manifested themselves with the confirmation from the Investment Property Databank (IPD) earlier today that Irish commercial property values actually increased in Q4 2011. Psychologically, the confirmation that property values in Ireland are now showing signs of stabilisation following three years of decline is hugely important. However, it must be remembered that investor demand is firmly focussed on prime investment opportunities and for this reason, while prime yields will ultimately strengthen over the coming months, yields on secondary and provincial assets, for which appetite is limited, will continue to experience further softening”
