Dublin’s office vacancy rate rose to the highest in at least 18 years in the second quarter and may jump to 27% in 2010 as new buildings are completed during Ireland’s worst recession, CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. said.

The vacancy rate rose to 21% at the end of the second quarter from 12% a year earlier, CB Richard Ellis, the world’s largest real-estate broker, said in a report. Developers are constructing 169,000 square meters (1.8m square feet) of offices that are due to be ready by the end of 2010, the Los Angeles-based company said.

'It’s scary stuff,' said Patrick Koucheravy, an economist in CBRE’s Dublin office, in an interview yesterday. 'It’s not a pretty picture in the near term; tenants are in a strong position.'

bloomberg.com