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Not all real estate is constructed equal, so while industrial and housing performed well through the pandemic, retail real estate groped around unsuccessfully in the dark, looking for brands to lease new stores to.
However, this is 2022 and somethings have changed.
Here are 5 answers to help you gauge the new direction.
1️⃣ Is Retail Leasing Picking Up? Per experts, the retail real estate pipeline is robust and leasing is way healthier than it was last fiscal. The retail sector went through some tough years. There was the retail apocalypse and then COVID, but strong shopping centres/malls and retailers are thriving now.
2️⃣ Are Retail Brands Optimistic? Yes. Leasing tea leaf readers report many of them saying, ‘We want to expand, so keep us in mind when you are buying new centres.’ It’s as good a time as ever to buy retail vacancy.
3️⃣ Omicron And Other Risks? Industry experts feel that Omicron, inflation and the upcoming interest rate hike are risks that are being factored in by investors while making decisions but overall, the economy is recovering. Plus, the boost in government expenditure will help mitigate some of the risk posed by above factors.
4️⃣ The Best Place To Invest In Retail Real Estate - If strong shopping malls are open to investments, write out that check. Else, look at retail centres in Tier - II and III cities, located in a flood proof area that is close to high schools and colleges, say seasoned investors.
5️⃣ COVID And Retail Real Estate Rebound? If you examine grocery-anchored shopping malls, where essential retailers thrived during the pandemic, they are now at pre-COVID business levels or better. Good retail is good retail, and COVID accelerated the demise of bad retail.