Hong Kong rent has toppled over in the past year. (Getty)
Rents declined on two-thirds of retail strips in the Asia Pacific region in pandemic-ravaged 2020.
Hong Kong’s retail districts saw the most significant decline of any submarket in the region. Rents fell 43 percent over the year, according to a Cushman & Wakefield study reported by Business of Fashion. Still, Hong Kong remained the most expensive place in the region to rent retail space, followed by Tokyo and Sydney.
Meanwhile, mainland China saw the lowest average rental declines in the region, just 5 percent, although price movement varied significantly between cities.
Rents were down 14 percent for the year in Beijing’s Central Business District, while the Louhu District in Shenzhen — just north of Hong Kong’s border — saw a 5 percent increase.
Rents in some of Hong Kong’s highest-profile shopping districts hit 12-year lows last year as the pandemic worsened already declining rents. Fewer people traveled to Hong Kong than in previous years because of the pandemic and political upheaval in the territory.
The overall Hong Kong property market slowed in 2020 but may be picking up again. Large real estate deals continue to close. In February, a five-bedroom unit at a luxury condo tower in Mid-Levels sold for a record $17,542 per square foot.
[Business of Fashion] — Dennis Lynch
