Commercial vacancy rate in Mayo was 17.5% in December

THE commercial vacancy rate in Mayo was 17.5% in December 2024, remaining unchanged compared to December 2023, according to the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report.

The vacancy rate in Mayo was higher than the national average of 14.5%.

Of the urban areas surveyed in the county, Ballina had the highest commercial vacancy rate (23.9%), while Westport had the lowest (13.1%).

In total, 30,365 of the commercial units were vacant across the state in December 2024. The report also found that the commercial vacancy rate increased in 15 out of 26 counties.

Even though all four provinces experienced an increase in vacancy rates, four of the top six counties with the highest vacancy rates were in Connaught, continuing the trend of high commercial vacancy rates in the west of the country. The vacancy rate in Connaught reached 18.5%, an increase of 0.2 pp from Q4 2023.

Commenting on the findings, Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory, said: “The national vacancy rate for commercial properties increased again in Q4 2024, continuing the trend of recent years. At 14.5% it is now at its highest rate on record, with vacancy rates increasing in all four provinces.”

Annette Hughes, director at EY Economic Advisory, commented: “While residential vacancy continues to decline significantly, dropping to just 3.8% in our most recent GeoDirectory Residential Report, commercial vacancy trends are going in the opposite direction.

“At 14.5% the rate now sits 1% higher than before the Covid pandemic, representing an increase of over 2,100 commercial units, and comes despite a strong economy, growing population and record employment.

“There are likely many factors at play here including, changes triggered by the pandemic, evolving shopping preferences and continued cost pressures on businesses and households.”