With many large office requirements having been put on hold or delayed by corporate occupiers as a result of global economic uncertainty over recent months, there was an expectation that annual office take-up in Dublin might only reach 100,000 square metres in 2012, compared to its long-term average of more than 150,000 square metres.
However, a relatively healthy 32,027m2 of office lettings were signed in Dublin in the third quarter of 2012, ending another three month period when a large volume of smaller office lettings buoyed the market. There were 51 individual office lettings signed during Q3 2012, bringing the total volume of office take-up in the capital in the first nine months of 2012 to 86,867m2.
While the volume of annual take-up in 2012 will be considerably less than the long-term average for the city, a year- end figure of 110,000m2 now seems the most likely outcome - an impressive result considering the economic backdrop both domestically and internationally.
