Northern Ireland investment falls to 10-year low
Commercial property transactions in Northern Ireland fell to a 10-year low in 2024, totalling just £127.1m, according to the latest figures from Lambert Smith Hampton.
The total is 51% below the five-year average and the lowest annual total since 2012.
Fifteen deals completed in the fourth quarter of the year, totalling £33.2m, which was up on the previous quarter but still 48% below the five-year quarterly average.
Commercial property transactions in Northern Ireland fell to a 10-year low in 2024, totalling just £127.1m, according to the latest figures from Lambert Smith Hampton.
The total is 51% below the five-year average and the lowest annual total since 2012.
Fifteen deals completed in the fourth quarter of the year, totalling £33.2m, which was up on the previous quarter but still 48% below the five-year quarterly average.
Retail was the best-performing asset class in the region, but the £61.3m total was 50% below the five-year average. The largest deal of 2024 was Ellandi’s sale of Bloomfield Shopping Centre and Retail Park in Bangor to a local investor for £22m.
Industrial investment volumes totalled £20.2m – some 42% below the five-year annual average.
Claire Shaw, senior research analyst at Lambert Smith Hampton, said: “Since the second half of 2023 assets offered to the market have undergone acute decline and this has been the key driver of 2024’s low investment. Significantly, there has been a dearth of higher value properties in the £10m-plus bracket, with only six brought to market since mid-2023, compared with an average of 10 per year. At £117m, the volume of assets offered to the market in 2024 fell to its lowest.”
LSH director Jonathan Martin added: “Investment volume will remain subdued until there is a significant resupply of assets. While some vendors have been reluctant to bring assets to the market due to the wider macroeconomic headwinds, those who do decide to launch their properties for sale, with strong fundamentals, can expect to garner considerable attention from investors.”
