China's commercial property segment is seeing some bright spots amid a slump in the wider realty sector

cnbc.com:

BEIJING — China's commercial property sector is seeing pockets of demand amid an overall real estate slump.

The capital city of Beijing is seeing rents for prime retail locations rise at their fastest pace since 2019, property consultancy JLL said in a report Tuesday. Rents increased by 1.3% during the first three months of this year compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, the report said.

Demand from new food and beverage brands, niche foreign fashion offerings and electric car companies has helped drive the interest in shopping mall storefronts, according to JLL.

The firm expects the demand to persist throughout the year, helping boost rents, which remain well below pre-pandemic levels.

Commercial real estate, which includes office buildings and shopping malls, makes up just a fraction of China's overall property market.

Sales of offices and commercial-use properties rose 15% and 17%, respectively, by floor area, in January and February from a year earlier, according to Wind Information.

In contrast, floor space of residential properties sold dropped by nearly 25% during that time, the data showed. Sales for both commercial and residential properties had fallen for much of last year, according to Wind.

Covid-19 restrictions on movement had also cut demand for China's commercial property, in line with global trends. China's economy, however, took longer than expected to rebound from the pandemic, amid a broader slump in the property market.

China's commercial real estate prices are nearing an attractive buying point, Joe Kwan, Singapore-based managing partner at Raffles Family Office, said in an interview last week.

«We do have an internal timeline or projection of how far valuation has to fall before it makes it