More than £153 million was invested in income-producing commercial properties in the Dublin area during the first six months of this year, according to research carried out by Gunne Commercial. The research covered income-producing deals valued at over £500,000. About 80 per cent of the funds came from institutions, underlining the reduced activity by property companies and private investors as prices harden and interest rates rise. Not surprisingly, 68 per cent of the spend was on office investments. A further 19 per cent was accounted for by a mixture of investments, most with some office content.

The heavy concentrations of investments in the office sector comes at a time when the vacancy rate in the city is 2 per cent, the lowest level of any major European city.

Gunne estimates 7 per cent of the overall spend in Dublin was on retail investments. The sector has been helped by the continuing growth in consumer spending and the strong demand for outlets, particularly from UK multiples.

The remaining 6 per cent of the investment funds went on industrial buildings an area which is still achieving high levels of capital growth and rental value growth. This end of the market is now dominated by larger deals with most of the transactions valued in excess of £10 million.