Property developer sentiment remains strong in Dublin, boosted by an increase in construction activity across the residential, office and hotel sectors last year.
Meanwhile the development of student accommodation has remained static, according to the Deloitte ‘Dublin Crane’ survey.
The report captures the development of new schemes and the significant refurbishment of property including office, residential, hotels and student accommodation throughout 2018.
In the office space, the sector witnessed a continued surge in development, supported by a strong performance of the Irish economy and the continued commitment of investors, both domestic and international.
The volume of development in the Dublin office sector increased from around four million sq ft in 2017 to 5.6 million sq ft of office space under construction last year.
However Michael Flynn, head of real estate at Deloitte Ireland, said the group envisage a reduction in the scale of city centre development over the short to medium term, as the office accommodation developed last year and this year satisfies remaining demand.
“This has been reflected in a noticeable reduction in planning applications lodged with Dublin City Council,” Mr Flynn said.
“The decrease in new applications most likely reflects the closing of supply gaps in the market, which means future commercial development should proceed at a more measured pace.”
That said, the impact of Brexit on demand for office space remains to be seen,” he added.
In the hospitality area, there are currently 20 hotels under construction in the Dublin City Council area. These range from new builds to “significant” renovation and extension work, according to the report.
These schemes will add a total of 2,752 rooms to Dublin’s hotel stock when completed, up from 929 rooms in 2017.
Elsewhere, and there has been a slight reduction on the number of student accommodation beds under construction.
Original article: www.independent.ie
