New research from JLL  has found that €2.3 billion of Irish investment property traded during the year 2017. JLL say this level, while lower than 2016 transaction levels, is in line with expectations and is a return to more ‘normalised’ market volumes.

The final quarter was the strongest of the year, with over €970 million trading in the fourth quarter 2017. The largest transaction of the year was the sale of The Square Shopping Centre, Tallaght in the fourth quarter, which was jointly sold by JLL for over €250 million.

In terms of location, the market remained Dublin-centric. Across sectors, offices and retail were the strongest performing sectors, representing 37% and 31% of total year end investment volumes respectively.

CEO and Head of Investment at JLL, John Moran said, "It has been another strong year for investment in Ireland with €2.3 billion trading. After the exceptional performance of last year, 2017 has seen the Irish investment market return to a more normalised level of activity. Interest in the Irish market, has remained high, with a large number of prime-large scale assets in particular attracting overseas interest and a number of new entrants to the market. Whilst offices and retail have dominated volumes, we have started to see very strong interest in the alternatives sector in Ireland. This includes Student Housing and Private Rented Sector."

He added, "We are forecasting this trend to continue in 2018, with these types of assets to be met with strong demand and aggressive pricing, as opportunities come to the market. We are also expecting to continue to see strong demand across the offices and logistics sectors, where solid occupier market fundamentals are reinforcing investor appetite."

Source: www.businessworld.ie