Singapore’s Orchard Road retains 12th spot globally for most expensive retail rents

SINGAPORE has retained its 12th spot globally for expensive rents in prime retail areas, based on findings from a Cushman & Wakefield report released on Tuesday (Nov 21).

The real estate services company said that average rents for the Orchard Road shopping belt stood at around US$431 per square foot (psf) per year.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that rental changes in Singapore until the third quarter of 2023 showed a “notable upturn”, rising 2 per cent. It expects Orchard prime retail rents to trend higher in 2024, as tourist numbers and domestic consumption improve.

“Given Singapore’s status as a regional tourism hub and a slew of Mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and marquee concerts in 2024, Singapore’s tourism should recover further,” said Cushman & Wakefield Singapore and South-east Asia head of research Wong Xian Yang.

With this in mind, international retailers are looking to expand in Singapore to showcase their brand to the region, Wong noted, adding that Orchard remains a premier location for new-to-market international retailers in the Republic.

Within the Asia-Pacific region, the shopping belt moved up to 13th place among prime retail streets this year, from 14th place in 2022. The most expensive prime retail street for rents in the region was Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong at US$1,493 psf per year, followed by Causeway Bay at US$1,374 psf per year.

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Meanwhile, Anna Nagar 2nd Avenue and Pondy Bazaar in Chennai rank among the most affordable locations in the region, with rents at US$22 psf per year and US$24 psf per year, respectively.

Substantial growth was also observed in Vietnam, Japan and India, with average growth rates of between 12 per cent and 18 per cent, Cushman & Wakefield said.

“While just over half of Asia-Pacific’s markets have yet to fully recover from rental declines experienced during the pandemic, there have been improvements over the past year,” it said.

The company added that Hong Kong has the greatest potential for recovery, as rents are still 42 per cent lower compared with pre-pandemic times. Australia, meanwhile, has experienced limited recovery.