Cautious recovery underway in Irish commercial property market, regulator says

Wed, 27th May 2026 12:30

DUBLIN, May 27 (Reuters) - A cautious recovery in Ireland's commercial ⁠property market was underway prior to the outbreak of the Middle East conflict, Ireland's central bank said on Wednesday, citing ‌a stabilisation of values and improving sentiment among investors and occupiers.

Similar to global ⁠commercial real estate (CRE) markets, prices in Ireland ⁠began falling in 2020 due to pandemic-related changes such as increased remote working, and the decline accelerated when global interest rates rose in 2022.

However the speed of decline in CRE ‌capital values continued to ease during 2025 before value growth returned for the first time in four years in the first quarter at a rate of 0.4% year-on-year, the central bank noted in its biannual financial stability review.

While building investment has stabilised overall and begun to rebound ‌in the residential space where there is large under-supply of homes, it remains well below the annual ‌average figure for the past decade or so and any tightening of global financing conditions could delay the recovery, the bank added.

The report also noted that house price growth has been showing some signs of moderation over ‌the past year and that lower hiring rates among younger workers, adjustments in the broader labour market and a moderation in the rate of ⁠inward migration may ⁠be contributing factors.

Irish annual house price inflation ‌eased to a more than two-year low of 6.5% in March.

Overall the central bank said that while risks have intensified over the last six months, ‌primarily from the global energy shock, the domestic financial system is starting from a position of resilience, supported by ongoing economic growth. (Reporting by Conor Humphries and Padraic Halpin; editing by William James)