High-Street Leasing Jumped 33 While Mall Leasing Fell 38: Is Indian Retail Real Estate Changing?

High-street leasing jumped 33%, while mall leasing fell 38%. Are retailers really choosing streets over malls?

India's Q3 retail property numbers look contradictory.

Total retail leasing: -4.4% YoY

High-street leasing: +33.1%

Mall leasing: -37.8%

But there is another number that changes the story:

Grade A mall vacancy fell to just 4.8%.

If retailers were simply abandoning malls, you might expect vacancy to rise.

Instead, Cushman & Wakefield says quality retail space remains constrained, while no new Grade A mall supply was added for the third consecutive quarter.

High streets captured almost 68% of Q3 leasing, with prime rents up an average 6.8% YoY.

So the shift may not be as simple as "high streets beat malls".

Retailers may be expanding where suitable space is actually available.

Around 12.7 million sq ft of new Grade A mall supply is expected through 2028, which should give us a much better test.

If mall leasing rebounds as new space opens, today's decline may have been largely supply-constrained.

If high streets keep gaining share anyway, the format shift may be more structural.

Which would you rather own for the next five years: a prime high-street retail property or space in a top-performing Grade A mall?