The number of empty shop units in Listowel is up 2.6% in the past year.
That’s according to figures contained in the GeoView Commercial Property Report for Q2 2020 by GeoDirectory.
It shows that of the three Kerry towns surveyed, commercial vacancy rates are up between April and June in Killarney and Listowel, but down slightly in Tralee, compared to the same time last year.
This GeoDirectory report shows that in Kerry, Tralee has the highest commercial vacancy rate during Quarter 2 of 2020 at 16.1%; that’s down 0.1% on Q2 2019.
Listowel’s commercial vacancy rate is up 2.6% in the past year to 15.3%, while the number of empty business units in Killarney is up by 0.1% to 10.7%.
Looking at Kerry as a whole, the county has one of the lowest vacancy rates in Ireland at 11.1%, that’s up 0.5% from 10.6% last year; the national average commercial vacancy rate is 13.5%.
Other points noted in the report is that Kerry has the highest concentration of accommodation and food services units in the country at 24.1%.
GeoDirectory says given the county’s high dependency on tourism industry and a decline in the number of visitors due to COVID-19, it’s likely to have had a bigger impact, which will become increasingly evident over the coming quarters.
