News roundup: Asia Pacific’s retail sector turns a corner, plus other updates

For PropertyGuru’s real estate news roundup, Asia Pacific’s retail shows positive signs the sector has turned a corner after having it tough for several years. In other headlines, APAC’s prime office rents exhibit contrasting extremes, resulting in an overall decline of 3.2 percent in Q1 2024. And with India’s Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 already in effect, here’s a detailed guide for using the Maharashtra RERA website.

Is Asia Pacific retail on the way back?

Retailers and retail owners have had a tough time across the region in recent years. However, according to Savills, there are signs that the retail sector has turned a corner, after several difficult years.

“As always, the diverse nature of the Asia Pacific region means different markets are under different pressures, both positive and negative; however, we have seen retail rents bottom out and begin to recover,” says Simon Smith, Head of Research & Consultancy, Savills Asia Pacific.

Savills Asia Pacific Average Prime Retail Rental Index showed rents bottoming out in the first half of 2023, before rising again in the second half of the year, after four years of correction.

The second-half rental increase was small in most markets, with only Osaka and Hanoi showing more than 5 percent growth, however, only Seoul continued to show a fall in retail rents.

There are several positive drivers for Asia Pacific retail, beginning with the region’s relatively strong economic outlook. Asia Pacific GDP growth is forecast to be nearly 4 percent this year, more than double that forecast for the US and way ahead of the Eurozone’s sluggish performance. Some Asian nations – India, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines – are on course for more than 6 percent growth this year. Retail sales are set to rise by around 5 percent this year, with India and Hong Kong in line for double-digit growth.

Asia-Pacific prime office rents decline 3.2 percent in Q1 2024: Knight Frank

Knight Frank, the independent global property consultancy, has released its latest Asia-Pacific Prime Office Rental Index for Q1 2024 to RETalk Asia, which showed a continued downward trajectory for the region. The index registered a 3.2 percent year-on-year decline, steeper than the 2.4 percent YoY fall in Q4 2023. This seventh consecutive quarterly drop was primarily driven by deepening rental declines in Chinese Mainland cities, which reached record lows during the quarter.

However, the regional rental prime office landscape exhibited contrasting extremes. While Chinese Mainland cities struggled with weak fundamentals, cities such as Seoul and Taipei experienced multi-year high rental rates, reflecting a flight-to-quality trend favouring prime office assets in these markets.

MahaRERA 2024: About India’s Maharashtra RERA website, complaint, news

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 came into effect in May 2017 and regulates the real estate segment in the state.

Maharashtra RERA has some of the most active real estate markets under its jurisdiction, which include the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune. The quantum of investment in these markets is much more, as compared to other cities, which affects the life of home buyers, as well as investors. To ensure transparency and accountability, the Maharashtra RERA website has several features to help buyers make informed decisions.

Housing.com brings you a detailed guide for using the Maharashtra RERA website.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].