REVEALED: Empty commercial units in Clare higher than national average
Increase in commercial vacancy in Clare sees it rise higher than average nationally
The commercial vacancy rate in Clare increased to 15.7% in December 2023, higher than the national average of 14.3%.
That is according to the GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report Q4 2023. The report, prepared by EY, found that this was higher than the national average of 14.3%.
Of the towns in Clare analysed, Shannon had the highest commercial vacancy rate in Q4 2023 at 29.8%, while Ennis had the lowest at 18.6%.
At a national level, the average commercial vacancy rate increased by 0.3 percentage points (ppt) to 14.3% in the year to Q4 2023. This is the highest level of commercial vacancy recorded by GeoDirectory since it began tracking data in 2013.
"The rate of commercial vacancies in Ireland has hit a new high of 14.3%, continuing the trend of increasing rates in recent years," said Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory.
"This trend can be attributed to a number of factors such as the rising cost of doing business, changing consumer habits and hybrid working. Consideration must now be given to how some of these vacant properties can be repurposed and reused, in order to avoid long-term vacancy and potential dereliction of these buildings."
In total, there were 30,046 empty commercial units across the country, with the commercial vacancy rate increasing in 20 out of 26 counties.
The services sector, including hospitality and tourism, had the largest share of commercial sites, accounting for 49.3% of the overall total. Within the services sector, hospitality services had the highest number of commercial units, accounting for 22,379 units or 14.4% of the total.
Annette Hughes, director at EY Economic Advisory, said: "Businesses have been impacted by a series of factors over recent years which have led to challenging trading conditions for many, and so, this increase is not unexpected.
"On a more positive note, the continued easing of inflation, ongoing reductions in energy prices and the anticipated cuts in interest rates should hopefully provide some relief for businesses this year.
"Longer term, strategic policy measures such as the forthcoming revision of the National Planning Framework offer an opportunity to influence future growth patterns, incentivising population and development into areas with particularly high vacancy rates."