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Challenges Ahead for Hong Kong’s Retail Market: Shop Leasing Transactions Decline in December

The pace of Hong Kong’s economic recovery is not as good as expected. Both the number and value of shop leasing transactions fell in December, with the number falling below 300. (Information picture)

Affected by the consumption factors heading north, the pace of recovery of the retail and consumer markets in Hong Kong has not been satisfactory. The number and value of shop leasing transactions also declined in December, with the number falling below 300, with 292 cases recorded, and the value being approximately 3,135 million, both of which were the second lowest on a monthly basis in 2023, second only to January 2023; the vacancy rate showed individual developments, with the core consumer areas on Hong Kong Island improving significantly, with Wan Chai District performing the best. Centaline (Industrial and Commercial Shops) expects that many domestic catering brands have recently settled in core areas of Hong Kong, which will drive the overall development of the local shop rental market. It hopes that the peak consumption and catering periods around the Lunar New Year will bring a new scene to the shop rental market. The vacancy rate continues to improve.

The number and amount of rentals in December all fell month-on-month

He Jiechai, senior regional sales director of the commercial and industrial store leasing department of Centaline, said that the bank’s data showed that the market recorded a total of approximately 292 commercial leasing cases in December, a 13% decrease from the 336 cases in November, involving a total leasing amount of approximately RMB 3,135. million, also decreased by approximately 19.5% from November’s 38.98 million yuan; compared with the same period last year, there was a significant increase. Compared with 258 transactions and approximately 25.34 million yuan in the same period in 2022, the number and amount of transactions increased by approximately 13% and 23%, reflecting the continued improvement in shop leasing transactions last year.

In addition, the market recorded a number of leasing cases for mainland catering brands to enter Hong Kong during the month, including Shop A on the ground floor of Chong Hing Plaza, 601 Nathan Road, Mongkok, which was leased by Wooden House BBQ for approximately NT$268,000. The property has a construction area of ​​approximately 2,583 square feet. , the lease is $104 per square foot. Another lease is also located in Mong Kok. It is Shop 5 on the ground floor of Bank Center Plaza, 636 Nathan Road. It has an area of ​​about 635 square feet and was leased by the mainland tea brand Mixue Ice City for about NT$200,000. The lease price per square foot is NT$314.

Mainland tea brand Mixue Bingcheng leased a ground floor shop in Mong Kok Bank Center for about NT$200,000 per month, with a rent of NT$314 per square foot. (Information picture)

Hong Kong Island’s vacancy rate improves significantly, Wan Chai is ideal

He Jiechai pointed out that judging from the vacancy rate trend, the store absorption situation in 2023 will be better than that in 2022. In December, the vacancy rate of stores in many core consumer areas was stable and improved. If compared year-on-year, the store vacancy rate in Hong Kong Island is The improvement is even more significant. According to the bank’s data, Wan Chai District’s vacancy rate has improved the most, ranking the highest among many districts. The vacancy rate in December was 5.7%, down 0.1 percentage points from 5.71% in November, and compared with 12.87% in the same period last year. , a sharp drop of about 7.17 percentage points; followed by the Central District, the current vacancy rate is 8.18%, a decrease of 4.71 percentage points from 12.9% in the same period in 2022. As for the New Territories districts affected by consumption going north, the vacancy rate of shops in Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan districts has increased. The current vacancy rate in Tsuen Wan district is 4.37%, 0.81 percentage points higher than the 3.56% in the same period last year, while the vacancy rate in Yuen Long district has increased year-on-year. Increased 0.55 percentage points to 3.55% in December

The New Territories’ convenience in traveling north has the greatest impact

She analyzed that the trend of traveling northward for consumption and Hong Kong trains has brought new challenges to Hong Kong’s shop leasing market. Many Hong Kong people have become a trend to travel northward during holidays. This has particularly affected certain areas, especially the New Territories where the travel time to and from the mainland is short. Rentals Business transactions are sparse, and rent prices need to be lowered to attract customers. At the same time, as the number of consumers traveling north increases, many well-known catering brands in the mainland are optimistic about the Hong Kong market. In order to increase their popularity, they are actively taking advantage of the situation to open branches in Hong Kong to build momentum and increase their popularity through the Hong Kong platform. She predicts that this trend of mainland catering brands will become a “new force” in shop leasing in 2024. In addition, owners and developers are also quite willing to invite such brands to enter their shopping malls and ground-floor shops. It is expected that driven by leasing transactions, there will be The vacancy rate has improved, which in turn has led to a steady increase in rents.

Due to the short travel time to and from the mainland, shop rentals in the New Territories are most affected, and landlords need to lower their rental prices to attract customers. (Information picture)

Check out the latest real estate sales, first-hand sales, second-hand sales and property market trends in all districts in Hong Kong (House730)

The original article was published on AM730

2024-01-21 08:56:41
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