Northern Ireland property quiet but stable
CB Richard Ellis says prime yields in the Northern Ireland commercial property market remain stable, although transactions are currently limited to very small lot sizes in towns in the region.
In its bi-monthly review of the Irish commercial property market, CB Richard Ellis notes that attention has recently been focused on the set-up of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) in the Republic of Ireland, with many transactions on hold while awaiting the set-up and initial operations of this entity. NAMA is designed to take over and run poorly-performing property development loans from the country’s banks with the aim of improving the availability of credit in the Irish economy. The due diligence process is well underway on those loans on Northern Ireland commercial properties that are due to move over to NAMA, CB Richard Ellis notes.
The forthcoming general election in the UK and the possible effects of public-sector cost-cutting are the major unknowns for the Northern Ireland commercial property market at this point, the report notes. CB Richard Ellis also points out that the question of reducing corporation tax in Northern Ireland has recently been raised – this would clearly give the local economy a huge boost and in turn help the property market in the region, “particularly considering the competitive rents and labour costs relative to the Republic.”
