High street vacancy rates improved in two-thirds of Irish retail locations surveyed over the past six months, according to new data from CBRE.
This contrasts with the same period last year when rates were moving in the opposite direction and suggests the Irish retail market’s fortunes are changing.
Prime high streets in Belfast and Limerick showed the most significant reduction in ground-floor vacancy in the past six months, contracting by between 3% and 4% to stand at 10% and 14% respectively.
Sligo, Athlone and Dublin also showed an improvement in high street occupancy, with the capital’s ground-floor vacancy rate now standing at 3.2%.
CBRE’s report also shows that €1bn was invested in the retail sector during 2014, followed by a further €36m in Q1 2015.
Simon Cooper, senior director in the retail agency department at CBRE, said: “It is encouraging to see an improvement in ground-floor vacancy rates across the country as it is not only a sign of the increased occupier activity which we are experiencing but also of local councils and landlords becoming proactive to work towards a solution to double-digit vacancy rates in high street locations.”
