The commercial vacancy rate in Mayo increased by 0.4 percentage points (pp ) to 16.6% in quarter two of 2020, according to analysis in the latest GeoView Commercial Property released by GeoDirectory and EY-DKM Economic Advisory Services this week.
This is higher than the national average of 13.5 per cent. However, it is too early to gauge the impact of Covid-19 on commercial property stock and vacancy rates according to the report.
With a Europe-wide recession predicted and working from home to become more commonplace, it will likely be 2021 or 2022 before the full impact of Covid-19 on commercial property trends becomes apparent.
The total stock of commercial properties in the country was 211,194 in June 2020, with 28,469 (13.5 per cent ) listed as vacant. Almost half of all commercial properties in the country were located in Leinster (49.5 per cent ), with Dublin accounting for 23.6 per cent of the overall total.
Increases in commercial vacancy rates were recorded in three out of four provinces, with only Leinster (12.4 per cent ) remaining unchanged. Connacht had the highest commercial vacancy rate at 17 per cent, further emphasising the east-west divide in economic activity that has been evident in previous GeoView Commercial Property reports.
The top five counties to record the highest vacancy rates in quarter two 2020 were all in Connacht. Sligo, at 19.3 per cent, was the county with the highest commercial vacancy rate, followed by Leitrim (17.1 per cent ), Mayo and Roscommon (16.6 per cent each ) and Galway (16.6 per cent ).
Meath (10.1 per cent ) had the lowest commercial vacancy rate in the country, 3.4pp lower than the State average. The commercial vacancy rate in the capital stood at 12.2 per cent in June 2020, slightly up (0.1pp ) on the June 2019 figure.
Ballina was the town with the highest vacancy rate in Mayo (25.1 per cent ), while Westport had the lowest (12.3 per cent ).
