RETAIL rents in prime Dublin shopping areas have plunged as much as 50% from peak levels, according to property consultant CB Richard Ellis.

A new report shows retailers in Dublin are buying and selling property, in spite of a decline in sales.

THE ongoing issue of rental pressure on retailers needs to be resolved between landlords, their tenants and their banks rather than government, according to the Irish division of international commercial property consultants, CB Richard Ellis.

ONE of the country’s largest property firms, CB Richard Ellis, expects to return to profit this year after pre-tax losses increased by 58% to over €850,000 last year.

A BUYER for Dublin’s Four Seasons Hotel is expected to be found before the end of the year, according to the Irish office of international real estate specialists CB Richard Ellis which is in charge of the sale process.

THE latest analysis of the Irish commercial property market suggests tentative signs of a pick-up are starting to emerge.

OFFICE space in Dublin is as much as 60% more expensive than Cork and Belfast, but Ireland’s low corporation tax rates means companies are still being attracted to the capital.

NORTHERN Ireland could soon be in a position to better challenge the Republic for foreign direct investment after the potential for lowering its rate of corporation tax was raised in yesterday’s emergency British budget.

VACANCY rates in the Dublin office market have fallen for the first time in two years, with experts saying a two-tiered system is emerging with prime locations in more demand.

Commercial property investment across the EU grew by 42% over the final three months of 2009, new figures from estate agent CB Richard Ellis Show.

Office rents in Dublin’s “prime” locations have fallen by as much as 40% from the market’s peak in 2006 and 2007, according to a report issued today by property consultants CB Richard Ellis.

PRIME office rents in Dublin are almost three times more expensive than Belfast.

THE property market is not dead as there are encouraging signs evident in the commercial and occupier sectors.

There was a slight upturn in the European commercial property market in the last three-month period, as investors spent €13bn in Europe, bringing total investment spend in the first half of 2009 to €24.5bn, according to findings released today.

INVESTMENT in the Irish commercial property market plunged more than 90% in the last year but experts say activity is starting to pick up.

AIB is looking to raise more capital via the sale and leaseback of seven branches in its property portfolio – a move which could raise an estimated €20 million for the bank.

THE Government is likely to have to inject further capital into AIB and Bank of Ireland as part of its “bad bank” plan to cleanse the sector of soured assets, a government minister said yesterday.

A FIRM of estate agents has brought a legal action against one of the country’s largest property developers claiming €1.5 million in unpaid fees.

TAX harmonisation could be the biggest threat to the Irish office market.

HOTEL operator PREM Group said its European Hotel Consortium (EHC) — a joint venture with Goodbody Stockbrokers — has reported an increase in value of €37 million.

The latest report on the property market here suggests that things might not be as bad as we think.

IRISH property company China Real Estate Opportunities Limited has seen its property holdings in China increase in value to €872.4 million, an increase of €70m in just six months.

Property consultants CB Richard Ellis today launched its predictions for all sectors of the Irish property market in 2008.

NEW home sales should pick up in the autumn, estate agency CB Richard Ellis predicted yesterday.

OFFICIAL figures that show that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of unoccupied homes over the past five years are likely to raise further unease about house prices and activity in the construction industry.

Property consultant CB Richard Ellis has appointed a new managing director for its Irish operations.

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) today announced the successful sale of the second Bank of Ireland retail portfolio to the Layden Group.

A new report on the future of the Irish property market has been released today.

SEVERAL questions were raised about why the Government paid over twice the market value for the site of a new prison in north Dublin last year.

MORE THAN 700 Great Southern Hotels workers are to go on strike if the Labour Court fails on Wednesday to break the deadlock over employee entitlements, ahead of the sale of the chain.

BIDDERS for the Great Southern Hotel chain have until today to lodge their offers.

PROPERTY investors advised by one of the country’s top investment groups, Quinlan Private, have bought the Diagonal Mar Shopping Centre in Barcelona, Spain, in the largest ever single real estate deal in that country.

There has been a major uplift in activity in the Dublin office market sector of the property market in recent months, according to a report released today by Property consultants CB Richard Ellis.

Tommy Barker looks back at a year when pubs adapted to the smoking ban and the arrival of new competitors.

The overwhelming majority of Irish chief executives are optimistic about economic prospects for next year, according to the property consultants CB Richard Ellis Gunne.

ABOLITION of the Groceries Order could seriously damage the Irish retail landscape top economists warned last night.

SHOP or pub? That’s the option facing Killarney’s O’Riains High Street bar.

IRISH investors ploughed €4.8 billion into European properties last year, becoming the third biggest force in cross-border property investment after the Germans and Americans.

Irish people were third-largest investors in commercial property abroad last year, according to a commercial real estate company.

Tommy Barker profiles an impressive period house that's been given a rather unique revamp.

IRISH investment in British property is heading towards the €2 billion mark this year, with confirmation this week of several major consortium purchases across the Irish Sea.

IRISH investors have pumped €2.39 billion into non-residential property in Britain in the first six months of the year.

HOUSES are overvalued by up to 10%, according to a leading economist.

By Tommy Barker