5 Things You Need To Know If You Want To Develop In Dublin
Dublin has been experiencing huge demand for commercial real estate in recent years thanks to many tech and financial services companies making the move to Ireland. Need for office and residential space is huge and developers have been kicking off new schemes across the city.
But what do you really need to know to get development in Dublin right?
Supply and Demand
Dublin is one of the hottest spots for investment right now with Ireland winning the best country in the world for attracting high-value foreign direct investments for the sixth year in a row.
The vacancy rate in the much sought-after docklands area is less than 1% and vacancy in Dublin city is 4.7%.
An estimated 1.9M SF is to be delivered to the Dublin market (city and suburbs) in 2018 and 2019 with 500K SF already pre-let.
Development is pretty evident with 80 cranes spotted in Dublin’s skyline last week, as reported by the Irish Times last week.
The best places to get your coffee fix
When picking a development spot, look for nearby cafés. Trendy young workers go where the coffee is good.
Coffee has seen a huge rise in popularity in Ireland in the last 10 years. Before this, instant coffee was the only coffee on offer in many local eateries. Served with four sugars and a good drop of milk, this was the height of coffee sophistication.
Café culture is huge now in Ireland, especially in Dublin. There are 51 Starbucks branches in Dublin alone. But it is the local independent coffee shops where you are mostly likely to find great coffee.
Granthams and Network on Aungier Street serve some of the creamiest cappuccinos and lattes to be found in the city.
3fe on Lower Grand Canal Street and Sussex Street roast their own beans here in Dublin and they also supply more than 50 businesses across Ireland.
Love Supreme in Stoneybatter and Portobello is known for its incredible signature coffee roasted for it exclusively by Roasted Brown.
Transport
Dublin has finally joined the ranks of modern European capitals with the opening of a cross city tram. It only took four and half years.
Now people can zip from Broombridge in the north to Brides Glen in the south. Previously the two Luas lines were not connected which meant people had to walk from O’Connell street to St. Stephens Green.
Property prices along the new line have reportedly risen by 25% ahead of the opening, according to property website MyHome.ie.
Areas like Stoneybatter have seen a rise in popularity in the last few years, leading to greater demand for residential and retail space, mostly in the hospitality sector.
Trendiest neighbourhoods
Rising rents and new transport links mean the best places to live in the capital are changing. Leafy suburbs like Ranelagh and Rathmines were once the go-to areas for 20 and 30-year-olds but now places like Stoneybatter, Grand Canal dock, Phibsboro and Smithfield are amongst the coolest places to rent in Dublin city.
Stoneybatter and Smithfield have seen a huge transformation in the demographic of people living there. Both areas have a number of cafés and transport amenities that attract young professionals and hipsters in numbers not seen before in Dublin 7.
Tax changes
Stamp Duty on commercial property rose from 2% to 6% this year. The move was subject to criticism from the property industry, with many property commentators saying it would make Ireland less attractive in comparison to other cities, especially in the Brexit race.
While the new rate is higher than Madrid’s 2% and London’s 4%, it is still less than Paris (7%) and Germany (6.5%).
The new rate will bring Ireland in line with Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
The rise in stamp duty was also announced alongside a decision to slash the capital gains tax exemption on investment property from seven to four years.
If you bought a commercial property and kept it for four years or more, you would be exempt from capital gains tax when the property is sold.
It is hoped the measure might boost transaction levels in the market.
