Rent determination for differentiated retail space in shopping centres

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to estimate a model of rent determination for shopping centers in the Central District of Hong Kong, one that allows for differentiation among retail units. Besides some of the commonly-studied determinants, this analysis will also examine several factors that have received relative little attention in the literature. Some of these influences, such as access by public transport, are more unique to Hong Kong and other densely populated cities where the cost of private vehicular travel is extremely high, whereas other factors, such as the tenants’ demands for the more desirable units, as reflected by the units’ location and tenants’ business profiles, are quite general.