Warehousing and logistics rents are the highest in Asia-Pacific Markets. According to a survey conducted by the CBRE Group, the world's largest commercial real estate services firm, six Asia Pacific cities were among the top ten most expensive logistics rental areas.
Rental values were analyzed based on prices per square feet. The U.S. Dollar was the prime currency on which the values were analyzed.
According to the survey, three of the most expensive logistic rental areas were in Asia and the other three in Australia. While two belonged to Europe, only one market was located in the U.S.
Greater Tokyo led the group with charges up to $23.28 per square feet. The other two Asian cities were Singapore and Hong Kong with rental rates up to $17.51 and $12.84, ranking third and fifth on the list, respectively.
The other three Asia-Pacific cities largely belonged to Australia. Rents in Sydney were around $12.45 per square feet and those in Brisbane and Perth were $11.74 and $11.02, all ranking sixth, seventh and ninth in the list, respectively.
While London came in second with rents of $19.61 per square feet, Stockholm fared in fourth with $14.17 in logistics rental charges. Only one American city, Sao Paulo came in eighth, with rents up to $11.71 per square feet.
In its report, CBRE states that demand for "sophisticated" storage and warehousing spaces "drove the global logistics market". Asia's industrial growth has increased commendably in the past two years, which is causing the logistics rents to reach new peaks. Apparently, third-party transport and logistics companies were also major drivers of the rental markets. Especially with e-commerce taking the front seat in retailing, demand for better warehousing increased the prices.
According to another market report by CBRE:
"The Asia Pacific economy continues to be relatively resilient and outperformed other regions, due mainly to strong growth in South East Asian markets. The growth of the region's retail sector has been particularly impressive in recent years. According to Canadean's The Future of Global Retailing to 2016, the Asia Pacific retail market is now the world's largest, with regional retail sales rising from US$3.2 trillion in 2006 (31% of the worldwide total) to US$3.8 trillion in 2011 (41% of the total). Asia Pacific is expected to account for just under half of the world's total retail sales by 2016."
Singapore and Hong Kong have been named the top Asia-Pacific hot-spots for retailing with 51 and 25 new entrants establishing base in the markets, respectively. However, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand are also seeing considerable growth.
Read more on Asia-Pacific Retail Market, here.
