National Commercial Vacancy Rate Reaches New High of 14.6%

GeoDirectory Commercial Vacancy Rates Report Q2 2025

• The national commercial vacancy rate stood at 14.6% in Q2 2025, an increase of 0.2 percentage points (pp) compared to the same period in 2024.
• 30,800 commercial properties were classified as vacant in June 2025, with vacancy rates increasing in 17 out of 26 counties surveyed.
• The highest commercial vacancy rates were located in the west of the country, with Sligo (20.8%), Donegal (20.3%) and Galway (18.7%) recording the highest proportion of vacant properties
• Meath, at 10%, was the county with the lowest commercial vacancy rate, followed by Wexford (10.6%) and Westmeath (12.2%)
• Ballybofey, Co. Donegal was the town with the highest commercial vacancy rate in the State at 33.7%, while Carrigaline, Co. Cork recorded the lowest rate (5.1%)
• The Accommodation and Food Services sector accounts for 14.4% of all commercial units in the state, with the highest proportion located in Kerry (23.8% of all commercial units) and Clare (20.4%)

25th September 2025

The national commercial vacancy rate reached a new high of 14.6% in June 2025, with a total of 30,800 commercial units classified as vacant across the State according to the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Vacancy Rates Report published today. The analysis, prepared by EY, found that the commercial vacancy rate increased in 17 out of 26 counties surveyed.

The highest commercial vacancy rates continue to be found in the west of the country with Sligo, at 20.8%, recording the highest proportion of vacant commercial units in Q2 2025. Donegal (20.3%), Galway (18.7%), Leitrim (18%) and Limerick (17.9%) rounded off the top five counties with the highest commercial vacancy rates.

With a 0.3 pp increase from Q2 2025, Sligo had the highest vacancy rate (20.8%) but the greatest change was again seen in Donegal, with an increase of 0.9 pp, and a vacancy rate of 20.3% in Q2 2025.

13 counties had a vacancy rate below the national vacancy rate of 14.6%. Meath, at 10%, was the county with the lowest commercial vacancy rate in the country and the only county in the State with a vacancy rate not above 10%. Wexford (10.6%), Westmeath (12.2%), Kerry (12.2%) and Cork (12.5%) were the counties to record the next lowest commercial vacancy rates.

In Dublin, the commercial vacancy rate was 13.9% in Q2 2025, an increase of 0.6 pp compared to the previous year. Despite its increase, Dublin's vacancy rate is still below the national average (14.6%).

Dublin 2 was the area with highest commercial vacancy rate in the capital, at 18.4%. Dublin 8 (17.4%), Dublin 3 (16.7%) and Dublin 9 (16.5%) were the other postal districts in the city which recorded higher vacancy rate than the state average. At 6.8%, Dublin 15 had the lowest vacancy rate in the capital followed by Dublin 16 (7.7%) and Dublin 20 (8.4%).

Of the 80 main towns and urban areas surveyed by GeoDirectory nationally, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal registered the highest commercial vacancy rate at 33.7%.  Shannon, Co. Clare moved to second place (from third previously) with a vacancy rate of 30.8%, followed by Boyle, Co. Roscommon at 29.8%. At the other end of the scale, Carrigaline, Co. Cork (5.1%) and Greystones, Co. Wicklow (5.5%) were the towns with the lowest vacancy rates.

Using NACE* codes to classify commercial units by economic sector, the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Vacancy Rates Report has identified broad trends in the use of commercial units nationally. Of the 180,349 occupied units nationally, 153,101 have an assigned NACE code.

The analysis found that the number of commercial units classified by NACE codes has decreased by 1,116 units between Q2 2024 and Q2 2025. With the exception of Industry, all sectors witnessed a decline in the number of commercial units. The largest proportion (46.6%) of this decline can be attributed to the Retail and Wholesale sector, suffering a decline of 520 units, followed by the Services sector which faced a decline of 325 units.

Looking within the Services sector, the Accommodation and Food Services sector had a total of 22,061 commercial units recorded in June 2025. This represents a decline of 150 commercial units compared to the same period in 2024.

The highest proportion of Accommodation and Food Service units were found in counties in the west of the country, accounting for 23.8% of all commercial units in Kerry, 20.4% of all commercial units in Clare and 19% of all commercial units in Donegal. Monaghan has the lowest reliance on the Accommodation and Food Services sector, with only 8.1% of its commercial stock allocated to this sector.

Commenting on the findings of the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report, Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory, said, “The national commercial vacancy rate has reached a new high of 14.6% in Q2 2025, the highest level recorded by GeoDirectory, continuing the trend of increasing commercial vacancy experienced in recent years. There are now 30,800 commercial units across the country currently vacant, a reminder that our commercial landscape as well as consumer behaviour is shifting.”

Annette Hughes, Director at EY Economic Advisory, said, “In Q2 2025, the commercial property vacancy rate rose in 17 out of the 26 counties, continuing a trend of more than half of the counties experiencing an increase in vacancy rates. Overall the commercial vacancy rate is continuing its upward trajectory at the same time as residential vacancy rates have reached historic lows. This trend highlights the significant challenges and market dynamics commercial businesses have faced in recent years, in spite of the strong overall economic performance of the Irish economy. Evolving shopping preferences and ongoing  cost pressures on businesses and households continue to impact the sector, although the extent of their influence will vary depending on factors such as location and sector.”

ENDS

*NACE Rev. 2 is the statistical classification of economic activities, an acronym for General Industrial Classification of Economic Activities within the European Community.    

For Further Information: 

Killian Keys, Wilson Hartnell, Killian.keys@ogilvy.com, 086-1024302
Niamh O’Connor, Wilson Hartnell, niamh.oconnor@ogilvy.com, 085-8542540

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