Office rents ‘to near pre-crash levels’

Rents for prime Dublin office space could climb to €600 per square metre within the next year, according to a commercial property researcher.

With vacancy rates for Grade A office space in the prime Dublin 2 and 4 districts standing at just 1.9%, rents which have risen rapidly in the last year are likely to climb higher yet this year and could reach €592 per square metre (€55 per square foot).

Such an increase would represent an increase of more than a fifth, following a 28% rise in 2014, and see rents climb back near the pre-crash peak of €673 per sq m.