Traditional Rents Just Broke A Record. Here Is The Case For Flex.
29 July 2026 · Craig Maguire, MR Commercial Real Estate
Prime Dublin office rents just hit €67.50 per square foot in the second quarter of 2026, up from €65 in the first quarter. That beats the previous nominal high, set back in 2017. CBRE is now forecasting €70 per square foot before the end of the year, with €75 increasingly talked about as a credible medium term number.
That headline rent is only the start of the bill. A traditional lease adds fit out costs, business rates, service charge, dilapidations and insurance on top, and it locks you into whatever the rent is on the day you sign for the length of the term, usually somewhere between three and ten years in this market. Sign now, at a record price, and you are carrying that number for a long time.
Here is where flex changes the maths. Flex desks in Dublin currently average somewhere around 600 euro per desk per month, and that figure already includes fit out, furniture, utilities, cleaning and reception. There is no separate capital outlay before you move in, and no multi year commitment to today's number. Terms typically run from six months to two years, so if rents keep climbing, or your headcount changes, you are not stuck.
To be clear, this is not a claim that flex is always cheaper than a traditional lease. For a larger team on a long horizon, a well negotiated direct lease with a strong incentive package can still work out well. The point is narrower and, I think, more useful. At a moment when the headline number just hit an all time high and every forecast points up, locking into that number for a decade is a bigger bet than it was twelve months ago. Flex lets you sidestep that bet while you figure out what the market actually does next.
This is exactly the kind of decision we help with. MR Commercial is tenant side across serviced, managed, traditional lease and off market space, so the comparison gets run on your numbers, not a pitch for whichever category we happen to sell.
Weighing up flex against a traditional lease? Get in touch at craig@mrcommercial.ie or +353 1 963 6199, or visit www.mrcommercial.ie.