Is there an increasing trend in the demand for large retail spaces in shopping malls in Singapore?

In Singapore, the demand for large retail spaces in shopping malls shows a mixed trend, but there are several positive indicators:

- Prime shopping centres in core locations, such as the City Hall/Marina Centre submarket, are performing well and have a long waiting list of potential tenants. This suggests strong demand for premium retail spaces.

- The overall retail vacancy rates have dropped to a decade-low of 6.2% by the end of 2024, and net demand for retail space has increased to 1.3 million square feet, up from 0.8 million square feet in 2023. This indicates a growing demand for retail spaces in general.

- However, non-prime assets continue to struggle, suggesting that the demand is more concentrated on high-quality, well-located retail spaces rather than all large retail spaces uniformly.

Overall, while there is strong demand for large retail spaces in prime and well-located shopping malls, the demand is not uniformly high across all types of retail spaces.