Tokyo is the world’s hottest city for new retailer expansion, attracting 63 new retail brands, according to the latest report by global property advisor CBRE, How Global is the Business of Retail?. Space in core areas of Tokyo remain highly sought after despite the mixed signals in the economy and an increase in sales tax of 8% introduced in April 2014.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Sales model in commercial office spaces that was only recently seen as an indicator of distress on part of the developers has, of late, turned out to be a smart business model by the MNCs. These multinational companies seem to have confidence in the Indian growth story and with long term plan they are investing into the purchase of these properties. Track2Realty Focus 2015 finds that it is not a distress sale of developers since the capital values and rental yields have both appreciated sharply in the last three years despite of impending slowdown. The shift of these commercial spaces beyond the IT/ITeS is the most significant trend.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Perhaps no other segment of Indian real estate would have taken as much beating as the retail one. With consumerism down due to overall slowdown in the economy, e-commerce emerging big to challenge the malls and the high streets back with innovations, it seems the mall developers had abosiltely no idea as to how to deal with the emerging market realities. Track2Realty Focus 2015 takes a look at how the promising retail in India could not benefit retail realty in its performance.
Track2Realty: Enhanced levels of activity in corporate real estate transactions led to a total office space take-up of more than 33 million sq. ft.during 2014. This activity was led for the most part by Bangalore(37%) and the National Capital Region (NCR)(24%).
Track2Realty Exclusive:Following nearly two years of sub-5% growth due to currency volatility, high inflation and fiscal deficits, poor investment and market sentiment scenario, India’s economy bounced back with a growth rate of 5.7% during the April–June period of FY 2014–15, up from 4.6% in the preceding quarter. With business prospects improving across key sectors, the economy is expected to display further improvements in the next quarter.
Track2Realty: India’s economic growth accelerated to 5.7 per cent in the April–June quarter, a figure that is much better than the 4.7 per cent in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. According to various international agencies like International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank and Moody, 2014 is expected to record an economic growth of 5.2% to 5.6% in 2014.
Track2Realty: The key southern markets of Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad together clocked in about half of the total corporate real estate space take-up among India’s leading office markets during the first nine months of the year.
Track2Realty: Positive market sentiments and a gradual global as well as domestic macro-economic recovery may finally be signaling the beginning of a revival in India’s corporate real estate segment. Various corporate firms, who had put their office space consolidation and expansion plans on hold over the previous couple of fiscals, finally began their transaction processes; and many concluded the same during the penultimate quarter of 2014.
Track2Realty: CBRE’s India Office Market View for Q3 2014 reports on the status of Grade A office space in the country’s leading cities. The third quarter observed strong demand for prime office space with around 8 million sq. ft. of office space getting absorbed.
Track2Realty: The draft guidelines for trading in REITs in India have been introduced and allowed. For the very first time, there exists a tool to channel small savings into the Indian real estate sector. Not surprisingly, several owners of income-generating properties are now considering setting up REITs.