Ireland Commercial Property Sector Enjoys $1.5 Billion of Investment in 2017

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According to JLL, over $1.5 billion of Irish commercial properties have traded so far in 2017. While this is lower than 2016, last year was an exceptional year.

In Q3, $623 million of investment transactions closed. The largest transaction in Q3 was the sale of a $71 million off-market office transaction in Dublin. The second largest was retail unit at 100-101 Grafton Street, which was sold by GLL and purchased by Irish Life for $59 million, and the third largest was the sale of 4-5 Harcourt Centre. The office building was sold by Clancourt and purchased by Ares for over $55 million.

Hannah Dwyer, Head of Research at JLL Ireland commented, "2017 continues to perform steadily, and total volumes of $1.53 billion are where we expected them to be at this stage in the year. As with most years, Q4 is likely to be the strongest quarter, with a number of assets on the market which are due to close in the next 3 months. This includes The Square in Tallaght ($274 million guide) and The Gibson Hotel in Dublin 1 ($102 million guide). We are still of the view that total volumes for 2017 are likely to achieve between $2.3 and $3 billion, assuming these large assets close in time for the end of the year."

John Moran, CEO and Head of Investment said, "It is encouraging to see that Ireland's investment market continues to perform. The supply of assets coming on to the market remains robust and the demand we are seeing from investors continues to surprise, with more core buyers from Europe in particular. Whilst they are becoming more selective in terms of what they are bidding on, we are still seeing interest, particularly for prime assets, or those that have an asset management or refurbishment play. Offices continue to be the focus for some investors, whilst others are branching into 'alternatives' in search of value. In particular, this includes the Private Rented Sector for Residential, for which we dealing with a number of active enquiries from clients. Both new and existing domestic and overseas investors continue to be active".