Real Estate Investment Soars in Northern Ireland
According to property agents CBRE, around 300,000 square feet of office leasing activity will be signed off in Belfast in the final three months of this year, making it one of the busiest quarters since the recession and bringing property investment over the year to £500m.
The report says the office market has been buoyed by the fact that City Quays 2 is now under construction and a number of new schemes are in the planning process which will eventually see much-needed grade A office space being provided.
Recent significant investments include Fairhill shopping centre in Ballymena, which sold for £45.8m reflecting a yield of 8.43% as well as the Bloomfield centre in Bangor which has a sale agree close to the £54m asking price.
Other real estate investments currently being marketed include Damolly Retail Park in Newry with a guide price of £33.5m, Tesco Extra at Craigavo asking £25m and Lisnagelvin shopping centre in Derry at £17m.
Retail vacancy rates have diminished in 2015
The retail sector has had a number of boosts in Northern Ireland this year with national retailers including Yours Clothing, Bon March and Schuh Kids opening in CastleCourt shopping centre. Dunnes Stores is due to revamp and extend its flagship store at the Abbey Centre where Next will be carrying out a similar project.
Retail vacancy rates have diminished in 2015, with Donegall Place fully let and the former Barrett’s store reportedly let to Inditex brand, Stradivarious. Boux Avenue recently opened in Victoria Square and CEX and Uberfone have leased accommodation at Rushmere shopping centre.
Industrial rents have increased for the first time in several years in Northern Ireland due to a shortage of prime accommodation. Prime headline rents are now in the order of £3.50 per square foot.
The hospitality sector has a number of promising schemes in the pipeline with Ten Square Hotel in Belfast applying to build a 71-bed extension, permission granted to convert Windsor House into a 200-bed four star hotel for the Hastings Group and Nightclub El Divino, currently for sale at £1.75m.
Brian Lavery, managing director at CBRE Belfast said: " Now entering the final two months of the year we are set to see considerable activity in the local commercial property market. As we have seen over the last number of years, there is a tendency for a large amount of transactional activity to conclude in the last few weeks of the year ".
" The increasing surge in the office market and rising rents has coincided with upward pressure on rents in the industrial and retail sectors. We recently hosted a conference at our London HQ where we were able to highlight the investment opportunities in the Northern Ireland market due to the notable pricing differential between Belfast and competing UK cities ".
" Despite any political uncertainty and on-going negotiations, Northern Ireland is set for a busy two months ahead as the usual clamour to get deals signed by year-end kicks off. Indeed CBRE have moved into our new office at Linenhall Street and we look forward to welcoming our clients to our new premises in the coming weeks and months ".
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
