The national commercial vacancy rate is at its highest rate in 12 years, according to GeoDirectory.
Its latest survey found the rate had risen slightly to 14.5%, the highest level since it began keeping records in 2013.
There were 30,635 vacant commercial units across the country in the final three months of 2024.
GeoDirectory CEO Dara Keogh said geography plays a major role when it comes to the rate.
“There’s quite a large divergence between the largest county and the lowest county,” he said.
“Sligo is coming in at 20.6% [and] has been the highest county in terms of commercial vacancy.
“County Meath is down at the lowest end, which is 9.9%.”
Mr Keogh said it was time for a rethink about how these properties should be used.
“Are those units ever going to be really ever going to be reactivated as commercial units?” he said.
“The change is online shopping, the change in worker behaviour patterns; COVID and worker attendance patterns, have they changed things?
“Is the business environment changed to an extent that these spaces need to be rethought and used?”
Ballybofey in Donegal is the town with the highest vacancy rate at 36.4% - over a third of all commercial properties.
Main image: An empty office space. Picture by: Alamy.com
