Interest in shopping mall retail space remains high

Shopping malls retain the title of the most resilient commercial property category due to high demand and their impressive performance, a trend that continued last year as well as in the first months of 2018, according to a report by Arbitrage Real Estate.

Arbitrage says the constant need for improved operating costs is expected to fuel demand for commercial premises of contemporary standards and specifications.

This shift, coupled with the provision of additional services thanks to new technologies, has begun to create demand for retail space in more organized and higher-standard premises.

As analysts note, shopping malls continue to take precedence over traditional retail outlets, as they are seeing a steady increase in traffic, which in turn has led to high occupancy rates, maintaining a quality mix of tenants and stores and improving profitability.

The high resilience of shopping malls is all the more impressive if one considers that the retail sector took a battering as a result of the decline in private consumption and purchasing power and rising unemployment during the 2008-16 period.

The increased demand for retail space inside shopping malls remained unchanged in 2017. According to Arbitrage data, rental rates for stores less than 100 square meters range from 60 to 100 euros per sq.m. per month. For larger stores, the average monthly rent is between 35 and 65 euros/sq.m.

A separate category is commercial premises intended for internationally renowned brands or anchor tenants which, because of their prestige and recognizability, attract customer traffic.

In this case, the average rent ranges from 10 to 20 euros/sq.m., but also includes a percentage of the turnover.

A total of 40 commercial complexes are currently operating in Greece with an total built-up area of more than 850,000 sq.m.

Based on the above figures, the country is still trailing its European peers with respect to the ratio between shopping centers and active consumers.