Property recovery ‘to spread beyond Dublin’

Property consultant CBRE predicts that recovery in commercial property sales will spread from Dublin to the rest of the country this year.

In their first report of 2014, looking at data from January and February, CBRE said there is evidence that a number of investors are beginning to take interest in assets outside of the core Dublin market.

Executive director and head of research at CBRE Ireland Marie Hunt said January and February were the busiest in years as demand continues to grow.

“Demand in the investment sector continues at pace... A number of investors appear to be getting more confident about opportunities outside of the core Dublin market on the basis that the clear recovery experienced in the prime market is now starting to filter out somewhat.

“Encouragingly, activity in all of the occupier markets is also strong with improving economic prospects boosting sentiment over recent months,” she said.

While the appetite among investors is increasing, so too is deleveraging by the indebted banks.

CBRE expects the number and value of loan and asset disposals will increase significantly over the coming months as NAMA and various financial institutions such as Ulster Bank (who recently appointed Eastdil to dispose of €1bn of their Irish assets) accelerate the sale of their loan book.

CBRE is also confident of a rise in development land sales. It has seen significant activity following the sale of 75 development sites for almost €200m in 2013. However, CBRE warned a vacant land levy could damage market recovery unless it is “implemented carefully”.