Commercial vacancy rates in counties Monaghan and Cavan are below the national average but some towns in the region have significantly exceeded the average. The latest report from Geodirectory shows there were 30,365 vacant commercial units in the state in December. Nationwide, the vacancy rate stands at 14.5 per cent., the highest it has ever been.
Overall Monaghan's rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 14.3 per cent and in Cavan the number was even lower at 12.7 per cent. However, towns in both counties buck the national trend by far exceeding the national average.
Of the urban areas in Cavan surveyed, Cootehill had the highest rate at 21.7 per cent but that was topped in Monaghan as the rate in Castleblayney stands at 23.5 per cent. At 19.1 per cent, Carrickmacross has the lowest vacancy rate in County Monaghan and in Cavan, the town with the least vacant properties is Bailieborough at 14.4 per cent. Dara Keogh from Geodirectory explained the figures (listen below):
