Fewer than one in 10 of Westmeath’s commercial premises are lying empty - one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country, according to a new report.
Of the total 5,331 commercial premises identified in Westmeath, the total number of vacant commercial premises is 468, an average vacancy rate in the county of 9 per cent.
The figures were revealed in the first GeoView Quarterly Commercial Premises Vacancy Rates Report, which analysed the number of vacant commercial units up to January 2013.
Westmeath was one of four counties, alongside Meath, Wexford, and Kerry, to record the lowest commercial rate across the country at 9 per cent.
Nationally, the figures indicate an average vacancy rate for commercial units of 11.4 per cent. Some 223,451 commercial units or premises were identified by GeoDirectory in the Republic of Ireland, of which 25,432 were recorded as vacant.
A total of 13 counties, including neighbouring Roscommon, Offaly, and Longford, recorded vacancy rates above the national average of 11 per cent.
Sligo (15.1 per cent ), Leitrim (13.8 per cent ), and Carlow (13.1 per cent ) recorded the highest commercial vacancy rates. Dublin also recorded a 13 per cent vacancy rate with 6,202 vacant units.
The report was published jointly by GeoDirectory and DKM Economic Consultants, and is accurate as of January 2013.
