It now looks likely that last year's record for hotel sales in Ireland of €710 million will be topped in 2016, according to CBRE.
The commercial property giant said that, although no new hotels were formally launched for sale in July and August, work continued on preparing hotel properties for sale in the autumn, while a number of transactions proceeded to final exclusivity stage in recent weeks, including the Doubletree by Hilton in Dublin 2 and The Gresham Hotel in Dublin 1.
CBRE forecasts that more than €400 million of Irish hotel transactions are due to sign before year-end, while adding that, considering the severe shortage of hotel rooms in the capital, 'it is frustrating to see so many proposals to provide much-needed hotels being appealed by third parties and in some cases being refused planning permission'.
Recent forecasts from STR predict continued improvements in Occupancy, RevPar and Average Room Rates in the Irish hotel sector over the next few years, said CBRE's bi-monthly commercial property report.
Meanwhile, transactional activity in the Dublin pub sector was quite subdued during the summer following the sale of 13 pubs totalling almost €8 million in the first half of the year.
CBRE said this is partly due to the time of year but also influenced by the scarcity of good quality premises being offered for sale at present, adding that many publicans are now working with new debt providers and trade has improved with the result that there is less pressure to bring pub properties to the market than previously.
It added that there has been a notable increase in the number of pub refurbishment projects of late.
