Due to the corona crisis, the retail vacancy rate in the largest city centers has risen unexpectedly quickly. That writes the Financieele Dagblad. City officials warn of deteriorating shopping streets.
Vacancy has increased considerably in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and Eindhoven, according to figures requested by the newspaper. In Eindhoven, more than 9 percent of the shops are currently empty. two years ago it was 6.1 percent. In Amsterdam, the vacancy rate rose from 1.4 to 4.8 percent in two years. That’s less than the national average of 7.5 percent, but it’s rising rapidly. In the Kalverstraat, 6 percent is now empty.
Vacancy is also booming in Utrecht. Last week, Utrecht alderman Klaas Verschuure wrote a letter to members of parliament on behalf of the six largest cities, which the FD has at its disposal. “We are seeing huge loss of turnover, vacancy that rises to 40 percent in some shopping streets and a large decrease in the flow of tourists,” said Verschuure. “This is already leading to a clustering of vacancy rates with degradation and undermining looming in the short and medium term.”
Rent reduced
To turn the tide, some lessors of retail space have cut rents considerably. The square meter price in the best locations in Amsterdam has fallen from 2700 to 2250 euros with new contracts, according to retail real estate agent Colliers. In Utrecht, rents in the best locations in the main shopping streets of the old city center fell by about 40% in one year.
The number of stores in the Netherlands has been shrinking for years. Last year, the number of physical stores decreased by almost 900, the CBS calculated. Despite the corona virus, that decrease was still slightly lower than the average of recent years.
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