Commercial vacancies in Mayo are above national average

The commercial vacancy rate in Mayo increased to 17.4% in December 2023, according to the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report. The report, prepared by EY, found that this was higher than the national average of 14.3%.

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, which is the highest level of commercial vacancy recorded by GeoDirectory since it began tracking data in 2013. In total, there were 30,046 empty commercial units across the country, with the commercial vacancy rate increasing in 20 out of 26 counties.

Of the towns in Mayo analysed, Ballina had the highest commercial vacancy rate at 23.5% while Westport had the lowest at 12.6%.

Sligo, at 20.5%, was the county with the highest commercial vacancy rate, followed by Galway (18.5%) and Donegal (18.2%). The west of the country continued to record high commercial vacancy rates in Q4 2023, with the rate in Connacht reaching 18.3%, an increase of 0.7 ppts compared to the same period in 2022.

Meath (10.1%) remained as the county with the lowest commercial vacancy rate in the state, closely followed by Wexford (10.5%) and Cork (12.2%).

In Dublin, the commercial vacancy rate increased by 0.3 ppts from Q4 2022 to 13.2%, which was the highest level recorded in Dublin since Q4 2016.

The GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report examined the commercial vacancy rates among a sample of 80 towns across the country in December 2023. Ballina’s 23.5% was less than Edgeworthstown, the town with the highest commercial vacancy rate in the country in Q4 2023 (30.2%), Shannon, (29.8%), Ballybofey (29.4%), Boyle (27.6%), and Sligo Town (26.2%) completed the top five towns by highest commercial vacancy rate.

Commenting on the findings of the GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report, Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory, said the continuing trend pf rising vacancies could 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,” said Keogh.

Annette Hughes, Director at EY Economic Advisory, looked at the reasons why the latest Commercial Buildings Report showed that 20 out of 26 counties had recorded an increase in commercial vacancy in Q4 2023.

“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,” said Ms Hughes. “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.”