Recovery in inbound visitors has driven demand for retail space in tourist areas, according to a report by Savills Singapore. Rents of Orchard area malls tracked by the consultancy recorded a 2.3% y-o-y rise last quarter, while suburban area malls declined slightly by 0.1% y-o-y across the same period.

According to Savills Singapore, this is in line with URA’s rental index data, which observed rents in the central area increasing at a faster rate of 1.0% y-o-y in 4Q2024. Meanwhile, rents in the fringe area fell by 1.0% y-o-y for the same period.

Overall, retail rent across all regions recorded positive net demand in 2024, with the Downtown Core Planning Area outperforming the rest. Net absorption for 2024 reached the highest level in the last decade, at more than 1.2 million sq ft, up from the three-year historical annual average of 958,000 sq ft.

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Islandwide vacancy for retail spaces continued to ease, falling from 6.5% in 4Q2023 to 6.2% in 4Q2024 — the lowest in 10 years.

Additionally, vacancies for retail space in the Orchard Planning Area and the Rest of Central Area fell to a record low in the last five to six years on the back of improved take-up and tight supply. “The higher demand in the Downtown Core and Orchard Planning Area could be driven by the arrival of new foreign brands as the tourism recovery bolstered retailers’ confidence,” notes the Savills’ report.

Looking ahead, tourism recovery is expected to continue in 2025 with 17 million to 18.5 million expected tourist arrivals following a pipeline of leisure and Mice events, says Alan Cheong, executive director of research and consultancy at Savills Singapore.

He adds: “However, the overall retail sales performance remains uncertain as consumers shift their spending patterns and behaviours. Coupled with tight prime retail supply in the near term, sustained leasing demand in tourist destinations and prime-facing locations are expected to continue driving prime retail rents.”

Rental growth for malls in the Orchard area is projected to reach the upper bound of the 1% to 2% range in 2025, while suburban rental growth is expected to come in the lower end due to sluggish domestic spending, says Cheong.

He believes that increasing outbound travel in the year ahead could further dilute consumption spend in Singapore, especially in the suburban areas.

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