Dublin enters top 20 global city index

For the first time Dublin has ranked in the Top 20 Global City Momentum Index (CMI) compiled by real estate advisers JLL.

The study tracks the speed of change of a city’s economic base and its commercial real estate market, compares 120 hubs across the globe.

JLL says the findings means that Dublin is one of the fastest-changing cities in the world.

The index is meant to capture the dynamics of a city’s real estate market – its rates of construction and absorption, price movement and the attractions of the built environment.

Ranked 14, Dublin appears in the top 20 alongside global cities such as San Francisco, New York, Sydney, Beijing and Singapore.

Dublin and London are the only two European cities to feature in the top 20 list.

Office rents and investment intensity were the highest-ranking indicators for Dublin, placing it at number 1 in the world for growth in the last 12 months.

It also ranked highly for retail rental growth (2) and market transparency (5).

John Moran of JLL Dublin said these gains could soon be lost if government policy does not respond to urgent market issues such as the significant supply shortages across commercial and housing sectors.

Other than the Nama response, which was welcome, there appeared to be a lot of promises rather than real action.