Dublin’s office pipeline will deliver space for 30,000 workers once completed, according to research from Savills.
Some 35 offices are under development covering nearly 3.5m sq ft across Dublin, says Savills. Of these, the majority are within the Dublin 1, 2 and 4 areas, with some at the South and North Dock sites.
Despite only one-third of the space being prelet, Savills predicts that supply will still lag demand for space, keeping rents relatively high.
Andrew Cunningham, head of offices at Savills Ireland, said: “In an ideal world, the delivery of office space would be instantaneous. However, in reality, it takes time. The average lag time between planning, construction and completion is two to three years.
“In the interim, it stands to reason, as evidenced by the current rate of growth, that rents will continue to rise. Today, prime CBD office space is being let for €55 (£42) per sq ft and we expect this to rise to €65 by the end of 2016. Where rents will go after that is completely dependent on the delivery of new stock and, of course, economic conditions.”
A lack of development finance is unlikely to prompt the oversupply seen in the previous cycle, says Savills. It added that even when all schemes completed, Dublin would still have too little space to meet demand.
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