Retail prices ease, rents inch up in Q3

PRICES of retail space dipped 0.2 per cent in the third quarter, after slipping 0.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

But retail rents edged up 0.1 per cent during the period - though slower than the 0.6 per cent rise in the second quarter, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday.

The moderation came on the backdrop of a greater supply of retail space, which outstripped demand during the quarter.

In the third quarter, the amount of occupied retail space increased by a net 15,000 sq m, while the stock of retail space increased by a net 52,000 sq m.

URA data shows island-wide vacancy rate of retail space rising to 6.5 per cent at the end of the third quarter from 5.9 per cent at the end of June.

Some 884,000 sq m in gross floor area of retail space was in the pipeline as at end-September.