Hopes of a recovery earlier in the year have been dashed by a fifth wave of infections and stricter containment measures.

• 2022 saw a tough start with the local retail sector experiencing its quietest quarter since the coronavirus emerged at the beginning of 2020. 
• Surging local infections fuelled by the Omicron variant have hit consumer sentiment hard and reversed a tentative recovery in the leasing market.
• Leasing transactions volumes were subdued over the first months of the year.
• Rents in both the prime street shop and major shopping centre segments have backtracked and registered a decline of 5% over Q1/2022.
• The new supply pipeline is expected to be delayed by three to six months as a result of labour shortages and prolonged government approval processes.
• The rapidly changing pandemic situation has made rental forecasts extremely difficult: the rental decline seen in the first quarter of the year has already overshot the full year forecast we made in March.