Mandalay still an opportune site for condo, retail development

Historic Myanmar city is ready for modern shopping centres and apartments at the right price points

Large land parcels in Mandalay have great potential for condominium developments and modern retail projects, according to Colliers International Myanmar analysts.

The selling price of condominiums in Myanmar’s former royal capital has already hit USD1,023 per square metre on average at the end of 2018, with cumulative take-up rate estimated at 74 percent, reported Karlo Porbre, the consultancy’s managing director.

Meanwhile, retail stock in the city jumped 9.3 percent year-on-year in 2018. However, the city still has a paucity of projects combining residential and retail components.

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“We see more demand for newly planned residential and business districts involving low and mid-rise buildings,” Pobre said. “The value proposition should be geared towards integrating quality facilities alongside retail components, a concept yet to materialise in Mandalay.”

Hospitality has been on the upswing in the city, with the number of hotel rooms surging eight percent annually in 2018. Approximately 218,901 visitors arrived in Mandalay in the first half of 2019, around 90,000 of whom consisted of Chinese, according to official figures.

Hpone Myint Thu, assistant research manager at Colliers International Myanmar, urged hoteliers to adjust the rates or push for differentiation in both services and offerings that are geared towards the rising number of Asian visitors.

“Moving forward, we recommend for investors to consider exploring business on industrial activities, while residential developments must be geared towards competitively priced low-rise apartments or landed residential communities,” he stated.