Demand for retail space flattened in the third quarter of this year while demand for offices declined, according to a report. Picture shows Donegall Place, Belfast on June 6 2025 (Picture by Peter Morrison)
Garrett O’Hare, RICS commercial property spokesman in Northern Ireland
Demand for office space in Northern Ireland is declining while interest in retail is flat, a report on the commercial property market said today.
The latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) monitor said its members were cautious about the sector, pointing to rising uncertainty, fiscal tension and falling demand for office space.
Instead, industrial demand had been the main driver for an increase in occupier demand for commercial property during the third quarter of 2025.
Surveyors told their professional body that they expected rents for office and retail space to fall again between now and the end of the year – though industrial rents were tipped to rise sharply.
And capital values were expected to fall over the rest of the year for office space and retail space, but particularly for offices.
Demand for retail space flattened in the third quarter of this year while demand for offices declined, according to a report. Picture shows Donegall Place, Belfast on June 6 2025 (Picture by Peter Morrison)
News Catch Up – Tuesday 28 October
In contrast, industrial capital values were expected to increase.
Looking ahead to this time next year, respondents expect both rents and capital values to be marginally higher across the sector – though that again would be driven by the industrial sector, with declines expected in offices and retail.
Garrett O’Hare, RICS commercial property spokesman in Northern Ireland
Garrett O’Hare, RICS NI commercial property spokesperson, said: “The latest commercial property monitor illustrates that outside of the industrial sector, we are continuing to see reduced market activity with occupier and investor demand for office and retail space experiencing reductions this quarter.
“Whilst this continues a longer-term trend, we are potentially seeing some additional caution in some subsectors due to economic factors such as above-target inflation, and fiscal policy uncertainty.
“Landlords remain under pressure to offer increasingly generous incentives as vacancy rates continue to move higher.”