Offaly's rate of commercial vacancies virtually unchanged since last year

The level of empty commercial properties in Offaly was virtually unchanged from June 2022 to June of this year, a new report has found.

Offaly continues to have the highest commercial vacancy rate in Leinster, according to figures in the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report, which is compiled by Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) in conjunction with An Post.

However, there was one positive for the county in that its commercial vacancy rate was holding steady at a time when vacancy rates increased in 20 out of 26 counties in the twelve months to June 2023.

Of the towns in Offaly which were analysed, Edenderry had the highest commercial vacancy rate as of June this year, at 24.6%, which was down by 0.7% compared with a year earlier.

In Tullamore the commercial vacancy rate in June stood at 19%, while in Birr it was 17.2%.

The overall commercial vacancy rate in Offaly was 16% in June. This was a decrease of 0.1% compared with a year earlier.

Across Ireland as a whole, there were 29,798 vacant commercial units recorded in the second quarter of this year.

The national commercial vacancy rate stood at 14.1% in June 2023, which was a marginal increase of 0.2% compared to the same period in 2022.

Despite the current strong performance of Ireland's economy, the commercial vacancy rate is at its highest level since GeoDirectory since it began reporting on it in 2013.

Ballybofey in Donegal retained the top position as the town with the highest commercial vacancy rate in Ireland at 29.9% as of June 2023.

Commenting on the findings, Dara Keogh, Chief Executive of GeoDirectory said: "The latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report found the national commercial vacancy rate to be 14.1%, making this the highest level of commercial vacancy on record.

"Businesses are clearly still struggling with the increasing costs of doing business in regard to energy costs and food inflation.

"An additional challenge this year has been interest rate increases which are generating some pressures for commercial owner occupiers and tenants."

Annette Hughes, Director of EY Economic Advisory, added: "After several years of strong construction activity in the commercial sector, the increases we are seeing in commercial vacancy are to an extent unsurprising, with trends such as working from home, sustainability and energy efficiency likely having some impact.

"While there have been increases in the cost of doing business for some companies, the overall Irish economy remains in a good position, with further growth and increases in the numbers employed forecast."