Mall vacancy in A'bad declines 4.5% in 2013

Lack of new supply coupled with mall space leasing facility has helped mall vacancies in Ahmedabad decline by about 4.5 per cent in 2013. As per the latest report by the real estate consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield, mall vacancy in Ahmedabad has been on a steady decline during the year.

Ahmedabad witnessed no new mall supply during the year because of which the mall vacancies in the city have shown a steady decline of about 4.5 percentage points during the year, the report stated. This decline in vacancies was primarily due to mall space leasing in mall micro-markets of Vastrapur and SG Highway. However, despite renewed activities, overall mall vacancies have been high in the city at approximately 29 per cent. In terms of mall rentals, the values have more or less remained unchanged during the year in Ahmedabad. "Despite the limited availabilities in main streets like CG Road, Law Garden, Prahladnagar and Satellite Road, the low transaction activity due to limited demand from retailers has kept rentals stable during the year. With shoppers preferring main streets over malls, retailers have followed suit and have shown higher preference for main street locations for expanding operations," the report further stated.

According to Sanjay Dutt, Executive Managing Director, South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield, the retail markets have started to show signs of maturity with developers taking interest in creating value out of their projects for all stake holders.