Increased interest in shops and offices saw demand for commercial property pick up in the last three months of last year.
Northern Ireland was one of only two UK regions to report an increase in occupier demand for retail property in that period.
However this followed a fall the previous quarter, according to the latest commercial market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Ulster Bank.
The rent expectations indicator for retail is also positive in the latest survey, bucking the UK trend, whilst the outlook for office and industrial rents also picked up.
Interest from potential investors in office and retail edged upwards after a decline, while enquiries for industrial premises remained flat.
Expectations for capital values though strengthened across the board (office, retail and industrial) both on short–term horizon and looking 12 months ahead. This was particularly the case for regarding the office sector.
However, the survey’s indicator for foreign investor interest was negative for the seventh quarter in succession, though only marginally so, suggesting that the number of enquiries from foreign investors continues to edge lower.
RICS spokesperson, Tracy Flannigan said: “It appears that overall the Northern Ireland commercial property market ended 2017 much as it had started it, with sustained levels of occupier demand and investor enquiries; albeit that demand softened in the quarters in between.
“As we move into 2018, we hope to see expectations for rents and capital values strengthen but political uncertainty remains, and how the year pans out will be influenced by what emerges from the ongoing Brexit negotiations.”
Gary Barr from Ulster Bank, said: “Surveyors are reporting rising demand from both occupiers and investors, particularly in the office sector. This suggests that the market has picked up following a lull in the mid part of the year, and that it enters 2018 on a relatively firm footing, albeit that there are challenges ahead.”
Source ITV website: Jan 2018
