Track2Realty: Mumbai, the financial capital of India, continued its office expansion and reflected occupiers’ confidence during the year 2014. Followed by 10% in Q3, the take-up figures of office space for this city grew at 29% q-o-q (absolute terms) from 1.1 million sq. ft in Q3 to 1.42 million sq ft in Q4 2014. The office rentals stayed steady during second half of the year and experts predict a similar spectacle over the next few quarters in 2015.
Last three months of 2014 in Mumbai witnessed prominent take up transactions by Zee TV– 220,000 sq ft, Capgemini– 90,000 sq. ft, Crompton Greaves– 95,000 sq. ft. Not only did the actual take-up of business districts grew, owing to the confidence instilled by a stable government at the State and Centre, enquiries from prospective occupiers also surged during this period.
Developer fraternity in Mumbai accelerated completion of their ongoing ventures and added 31% of the total yearly office supply during Q4 alone. The total office supply during the year 2014 stood at 9.1 million sq ft and noticeably 76% (6.9 million sq ft) went to the SBD region.
At the retail front, Mumbai graph continued with its drive towards the North. Krispy Kreme opened its flagship store at Viviana Mall, along with Burger King at Oberoi Mall, and AND Store at Infiniti Mall (Andheri) added new stores to the retail kitty of Mumbai during Q4 2014. This market segment recorded stable rental values while the premium malls continued churning their tenants for ideal tenant-mix.
Interestingly, the retailers continued their expansion plans of opening new stores at high streets owing to the absence of opportunities at top performing, premium shopping centers. Westside, William Penn, Krispy Kreme and Pizza Hut are some of the retailers that opened new stores in Mumbai during Q4 2014.
The coming months are expected to bring more cheer for the retail sector in Mumbai. Single brand retailers and other domestic retail players are planning their expansion encouraged by pro-trade stance of the new government. Furthermore, a positive sentiment is also expected to persist in Mumbai’s office market during 2015. With India’s economy striding robust on track of recovery, Mumbai RE sector is expected to continue witnessing an ascent in supply and take‐up statistics over the next quarters in 2015.
