Retail sentiment weakens as rents slide down

High street shop leasing remains subdued.

In the retail market of Hong Kong's real estate sector, high street shop leasing remained subdued in Q1 in 2015.

According to a research note from CBRE, this is due to the growing opposition to the continued influx of mainland Chinese tourists as well as the structural shift in tourist consumption patterns.

Further, some retailers adopted a wait-and-see approach and renewed leases on a short-term basis

Also, landlords on some tier-2 streets with higher vacancies became more willing to lower asking rents.