According to the latest Greater China Property Market Report released by Knight Frank, during the second quarter of 2014, the retail property market remained stable, rentals in major cities also remained steady, with only minor fluctuations within 1%, up or down.
Beijing
The rapid growth in online retail has curbed retail property demand in non-prime retail areas, while the slower overall economic growth and the government’s efforts to cut spending has impacted upon retail sales growth, especially for first-tier luxury retailers.
However, the prime retail vacancy rate is expected to remain flat, prime retail demand will remain stable and prime retail rents will grow 1-2% in the third quarter.
Shanghai
In the second quarter of 2014, there was steady retail demand, with the Labour Day holiday pushing up retail sales. With e-commerce continuing to grab market share from traditional retailers, shopping mall operators will actively adjust their tenant mix by increasing the ratio of Food & Beverage. In the third quarter, it is expected that the increase of rentals for clothing businesses will be limited, but the rentals for F&B operators will increase slightly.
Guangzhou
A number of new shopping malls will enter the market in the third quarter and in 2015, but most of them will be located in emerging areas like Panyu District, Jinshazhou and Luogang New District, which are expected to have little impact on core retail areas.
Hong Kong
Austerity measures on the Mainland continued to impact the sales of luxury goods, while demand from mid-end retailers remained active as a result of the change in the spending pattern of Mainland visitors. In contrast, leasing activity of luxury brands in prime retail districts remained subdued with few deals recorded.
Taipei
According to the National Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan’s sales of retail trade in May 2014 was NT329.6 billion, up 4.3% from the preceding month, reflecting the continuous growth of the retail industry and retail property market.