Strong activity in the final quarter of 2018 resulted in record take-up of more than 3.9M SF of office space in Dublin last year.

According to CBRE figures, 54 office deals signed in the capital during Q4, bring the total number of transactions for the year to 239, compared with 237 in 2017.

“2018 was the second consecutive year where the Dublin office market achieved above-average performance, boosted by several strategic transactions, predominantly from the expansion of occupiers in the technology sector,” CBRE Executive Director and Head of Research Marie Hunt said.

“Most of the large transactions signed in 2018 occurred in some of the new office stock being delivered in the capital with occupiers committing to buildings in advance of practical completion.”

In fact, pre-lets accounted for 36% of take-up during 2018 with 18 transactions, seven of them happening in the final quarter.

Tech companies were responsible for a massive 67% of take-up in Q4, boosted by Facebook’s huge deal in Ballsbridge. Across the whole year, the tech sector accounted for 51% of take-up.

Coworking and flexible tenants took 11% of space in Q4 and 12% in the whole year.

The overall vacancy rate at the end of Q4 was 6.1%, down from 7.3% the previous quarter. The Grade A vacancy rate in Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 at the end of the year was 4.3%.

This year may not reach the dizzy heights of last year, but the indicators suggest it will be a strong year. At the end of Q4, around 1.6M SF of office stock was reserved. In addition, CBRE said there are requirements for almost 3.5M SF, 58% of which is focused on the city centre and a further 39% specifically looking at properties in Dublin 2 and Dublin 4.