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Singapore recorded the third most expensive monthly retail rents amongst 13 major cities in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region during the second half of 2014, according to the latest report from Knight Frank.
The consultancy’s Prime Shopping Centre Index showed that the city-state’s retail rents stood firm at US$260 per sq m (S$343.43) in 2H 2014 at a six-month basis, ahead of Beijing with US$214.5 per sq m (S$283.33), Sydney at US$209.1 per sq m (S$276.2) and Melbourne with US$200.6 per sq m (S$264.97).
It was also higher than the rest of the top ten cities consisting of seventh placer Brisbane with US$98.6 per sq m (S$130.24), followed by Guangzhou at US$92.6 per sq m (S$122.32), Mumbai with US$83.4 per sq m (S$110.16) and New Delhi at US$74.5 per sq m (S$98.41).
However, the republic was surpassed by Hong Kong and Shanghai, which bagged the top two spots with respective retail rents of US$1,520 per sq m (S$2,008) and US$288.4 per sq m (S$380.95).
Overall, the APAC Prime Shopping Centre Index inched up by 0.3 percent during 2H 2014. While this is the same rate of growth in the corresponding period in 2013, this is slower than the 1.5 percent expansion in the previous six months.
“Retail markets across the region continue to be impacted by the rise of ecommerce and shifting consumption patterns. At the same time, challenging trading conditions in many secondary malls are putting some downward pressure on returns,” said Nicholas Holt, Knight Frank’s Research Head for Asia Pacific.
Meanwhile, the consultancy’s Prime Office Rental Index showed that Singapore’s monthly office rents increased by 2.3 percent to US$81.9 per sq m (S$108.18) in 2H 2014 on a six-month basis.
Vacancy rate of 10.2 percent was also 12th best among 19 APAC cities. In comparison, Shanghai posted the lowest vacancy rate of 3.0 percent, while Phnom Penh was last with a whooping vacancy rate of 46.9 percent.
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg