Defying any ears of a market slowdown, liquidity crunch and rising inventories, the April-June period saw a 65% growth in retail mall space supply across India over the previous quarter
Demand continued to be robust in Bangalore with corporates expanding and leasing large spaces.
Leasing activity continued to remain strong in suburban micro-markets of Delhi – NCR, while the CBD and SBD saw moderate activity.
Two marquee international brands — Giorgio Armani and Ferragamo — that have joint ventures with leading realty player DLF group’s subsidiary, DLF Brands, have been talking to other corporate groups and investors to scope out the potential of changing their Indian partner.
The period ending 1Q11 witnessed moderate activity in the office market in the city. With CBD vacancy rates continuing to hover at around 1%, office transactions were limited to either small office queries or larger office spaces that were inevitably a churn in the existing stock.
Unsold, vacant, no takers…these words aptly sum up the story for real estate developers into malls in India. Even though retailers are spreading their wings once again after the slowdown, the absorption of malls remains sluggish, leading to high vacancies.
As many as seven out of 10 Indians with disposal income, a whopping 72 per cent, go to shopping malls at least twice a month but don’t buy the monthly food & grocery, apparels or consumer durables over there.
The concept of international, standardized luxury floor space must evolve further before India can absorb the demand. Developers must come up with more imaginative ideas of differentiating their luxury malls from the run-of-the-mill.
Urbanization rate is on the increase – and while there had been a few setbacks over the past few years, the Indian luxury retail market is firmly back now. The economy once again supports the rationale for spending on luxury goods, and it will continue to do so.
The outlook for Chennai’s residential property market remains positive in 2011. This is a stable market, and the prices have risen rationally in tandem with normal market trends. With the IT sector on the upswing and job security once again strong, Chennai’s residential real estate market will see accelerated demand in 2011.