While momentum in the commercial real estate sector has been slow to build so far this year, a combination of investor demand from international core capital and for office accommodation from a number of major companies is expected to see prime property values resume their upward trajectory in the coming months.
That’s the view from CBRE in its first bi-monthly report for 2017. They believe the bulk of transactional activity across most sectors of the market will come in the second half of this year as opposed to the first six months as “considerable activity [now taking place] behind the scenes” comes to fruition.
Outlining her expectations for the market and for prime asset values specifically, CBRE’s head of research, Marie Hunt, said: “Appetite for prime investment opportunities in the Irish market has intensified noticeably over recent months, with international core capital remaining active buyers, which could actually lead to some further hardening in yields for prime high street and prime office assets in due course.”
Referring to the outlook for the office market and for the Dublin market particularly, Ms Hunt added: “The occupier markets continue to perform well, buoyed in particular by the strength of continued employment generation in the Irish economy. Worthy of particular mention is a notable increase in active requirements for office accommodation in Dublin over recent months, with several mandates in play at present including some that are specifically Brexit-related. Once Article 50 is officially triggered, demand is expected to escalate further.”
