Real estate agents see recovery in the retail real estate market – Emerce

Real estate agents have more than 1.39 million square meters – equivalent to more than 4,500 retail spaces – of retail space available. This is reported by the Dutch Association of Real Estate Agents.

Thanks to lower inflation and higher wages, consumers have an average of 2.5 percent more to spend, which results in more visitors to popular shopping areas. But there are also concerns: consumer confidence remains low and there is still a lot of economic uncertainty. In addition, retailers are having a hard time due to tight profit margins and competition from large international and online stores.

This year, more than 230 retail companies went bankrupt, including Game Mania, Bristol, Esprit and Blokker. The disappearance of Blokker will also become visible in Dutch shopping streets.

Despite the bankruptcies, vacancy in shopping areas is not growing explosively, because popular locations in particular are quickly put back into use. Since the start of 2024, the number of vacant stores has increased by only 600 properties, to 13,600 retail properties in total. This corresponds to a vacancy rate of 7.3 percent, compared to 6.9 percent earlier this year. In total, real estate agents had approximately 1.39 million square meters for sale or rent in the third quarter of 2024. That is 5.5 percent more compared to the same period a year earlier. There is more retail space available in many places; This also applies to the four major cities and the larger inner cities of the Netherlands. For example, the supply in the center of Amsterdam increased by 14 percent and in Rotterdam by 23 percent.

In the first three quarters of 2024, retail rental prices increased by an average of 4 percent, mainly because more stores have been rented in popular shopping streets. Yet new rental contracts are often cheaper, which offers opportunities for starting entrepreneurs. This creates more variety and dynamics in shopping streets, which gradually leads to a metamorphosis of shopping areas. In city centers, for example, there is a shift towards more catering and culture, which increases the time spent by shoppers, which is beneficial for the entire shopping area. There is also more variety in shopping areas due to the increase in entrepreneurs in the field of grooming and health, such as hairdressers, tattoo parlors and beauty salons. Second-hand shops (vintage) are also gaining in popularity.