Delhi Markets: Delhi high street gets premium tag back

The country’s costliest retail locations, Khan Market and Connaught Place, are buzzing with shoppers again, and many retailers are coughing up never-before rentals to secure a place in these high streets.

Rentals at the two Delhi retail hubs have increased by 16.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022, surpassing pre-Covid levels, as per real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

“Scarcity of space has always kept the rental high (at the two markets), but the pandemic led to a slight dip in rentals,” said Vibhor Jain, managing director, North India, at Cushman & Wakefield. Khan Market and Connaught Place had seen several exits after the Covidinduced shutdown in 2020 and, consequently, rents dropped by up to 20%, industry experts said.

Now, retailers are flocking back to the high streets, as most pandemic restrictions have been lifted, many offices and schools and colleges are open and shoppers are back in high streets.

COVERING LOSSES “Many brands are willing to pay high rental rates to be in the premium highstreet zone,” said Sanjeev Mehra, president of Khan Market Traders Association. “Some of the prime spaces might see a rent of Rs 2,000 per square foot per month as demand is huge and landlords want to cover the losses that occurred during Covid-19.”

According to property consultants, five to seven deals closed in Khan Market in the March quarter, and at least one of them was signed at a monthly rental of Rs 1,500 per sq ft. After the pandemic outbreak in 2020, average rent in the market had slipped to Rs 1,275 per sq ft per month, against the previous peak rate of Rs 1,350 per sq ft per month in 2017, property consultants said.