22 March 2025
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Property News
- The commercial vacancy rate in Cork was 12.4% in December 2024, which – if one looks for a postive – was lower than the national average of 14.5%
- Of the urban areas in Cork surveyed, Cobh had the highest commercial vacancy rate (19.1%), while Carrigaline had the lowest (5.1%)
- Sligo was the county with the highest commercial vacancy rate at 20.6%, followed closely by Donegal (20.1%) and Galway at 18.8%.
- The lowest commercial vacancy rates were recorded in Meath (9.9%), Wexford (10.8%) and Kerry (12.3%)
The commercial vacancy rate in Cork was 12.4% in December 2024, increasing by 0.2 percentage points (ppts) compared to December 2023 according to the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report.
The commercial vacancy rate in Cork was lower than the national average of 14.5%.
In total, 30,365 of the commercial units were vacant across the state in December 2024. The report also found that the commercial vacancy rate increased in 15 out of 26 counties.
County Commercial Vacancy Rates
With a 0.1 percentage point (pp) increase from Q4 2023, Sligo recorded the highest commercial vacancy rate at 20.6%, followed closely by Donegal (20.1%) and Galway at 18.8%.
Even though all four provinces experienced an increase in vacancy rates, four of the top six counties with the highest vacancy rates were in Connacht, continuing the trend of high commercial vacancy rates in the west of the country. The vacancy rate in Connacht reached 18.5%, an increase of 0.2 pp from Q4 2023.
Meath once again remained the county with the lowest commercial vacancy rate in the country at 9.9%, followed by Wexford (10.8%) and Kerry (12.3%).
Dublin’s commercial vacancy rate stood at 13.6%, a 0.5 pp increase on Q4 2023. Despite this being the highest level of vacancy recorded in Dublin since Q4 2016, the current rate is still below the national vacancy rate of 14.5%.
Analysis of Towns and Dublin Districts
This report examined a sample of 80 towns throughout Ireland, as well as 22 districts in Dublin, to assess the shift in commercial vacancy rates from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the same period in 2024.
Of the urban areas in Cork surveyed, Cobh had the highest commercial vacancy rate (19.1%), while Carrigaline had the lowest (5.1%).
The report found that Ballybofey, Co. Donegal was the town with the highest commercial vacancy rate in the State in Q4 2024 at 36.4%. Shannon, Co. Clare moved to second place with a vacancy rate of 30.8% with Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford (28.3%), Boyle, Co. Roscommon (27.7%) and Sligo Town (26.8%) completing the top five towns by highest commercial vacancy rate.
In contrast, the lowest commercial vacancy rates in the country were recorded in Greystones, Co. Wicklow (5.5%) and Carrigaline, Co. Cork (5.1%).
Commenting on the findings of the GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report, Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory, said, “The national vacancy rate for commercial properties increased again in Q4 2024, continuing the trend of recent years. At 14.5% it is now at its highest rate on record, with vacancy rates increasing in all four provinces. ”
Annette Hughes, Director at EY Economic Advisory, said, “While residential vacancy continues to decline significantly, dropping to just 3.8% in our most recent GeoDirectory Residential Report, commercial vacancy trends are going in the opposite direction. At 14.5% the rate now sits 1% higher than before the Covid pandemic, representing an increase of over 2,100 commercial units and comes despite a strong economy, growing population and record employment. There are likely many factors at play here including, changes triggered by the pandemic, evolving shopping preferences and continued cost pressures on businesses and households.”