The town of Ballybofey has the highest commercial vacancy rate in the country, with almost a third of premises unoccupied.
The commercial vacancy rate in Donegal has increased to 17.9% in the past year.
Donegal has the third highest commercial vacancy rate in the country, after Sligo and Galway.
Ballybofey had the highest commercial vacancy rate in June 2023 at 29.9%, while Bundoran had the lowest at 12.2%.
The latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report, prepared by EY, found that the national commercial vacancy rate stood at 14.1% in June 2023, a marginal increase of 0.2 percentage points (pp) when compared to the same period in 2022. The national commercial vacancy rate is the highest level recorded by GeoDirectory since it began reporting on the rates in 2013.
Commercial vacancy rates increased in 20 out of 26 counties in the twelve months to June 2023, with a total of 29,798 vacant commercial units recorded across Ireland.
Commenting on the findings of the report, Dara Keogh, Chief Executive of GeoDirectory said: “The latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report found the national commercial vacancy rate to be 14.1%, making this the highest level of commercial vacancy on record. Businesses are clearly still struggling with the increasing costs of doing business in regard to energy costs and food inflation. An additional challenge this year has been interest rate increases which are generating some pressures for commercial owner occupiers and tenants.”
Annette Hughes, Director, EY Economic Advisory said: “After several years of strong construction activity in the commercial sector, the increases we are seeing in commercial vacancy are to an extent unsurprising, with trends such as working from home, sustainability and energy efficiency likely having some impact. While there have been increases in the cost of doing business for some companies, the overall Irish economy remains in a good position, with further growth and increases in the numbers employed forecast.”
