쿠시먼앤웨이크필드 코리아 리서치 책임자 정진우가 월요일 서울 자사 사무실에서 열린 기자회견에서 다음과 같이 기자회견을 했다.
쿠시먼앤웨이크필드 코리아 리서치 책임자 정진우가 월요일 서울 자사 사무실에서 열린 기자회견에서 발언하고 있다. Cushman & Wakefield 제공 |
By Park Jae-hyuk
Cushman & Wakefield Korea, the U.S. commercial real estate services firm's local subsidiary, gave an optimistic outlook for Myeong-Dong, a tourism and shopping district in downtown Seoul, saying the declining sales of the area's stores has bottomed out.
"Although Myeong-dong may not be popular among Koreans, it is still a must-visit tourist spot for foreigners making their first visits to Korea," Jung Jin-Woo, the company's head of research, said at Monday's press conference on the analysis of the Korean commercial real estate market this year and the outlook for next year.
According to Cushman's analysis, Myeong- Dong has transformed during the pandemic into an area accommodating larger flagship stores of global brands, such as Apple and Nike, from a place having smaller Korean cosmetics and apparel brand stores.
As a result, the neighborhood is expected to show a recovery in sales with the increasing inflow of foreign tourists, despite massive shutdowns of cosmetics stores that had relied heavily on Chinese visitors.
"Myeong-Dong's tenants will need to find the items that can substitute cosmetics products, such as sport brands," Jung said.
During the press conference, Cushman expressed a rosy outlook for landlords, in spite of fears over an economic recession. The company explained that demand for offices and logistics centers will remain solid, due to the rapid growth of IT firms and startups over the past couple of years.
The real estate consulting firm also said that IT firms have expanded rapidly in Seoul's business districts, while foreign enterprises and financial services companies have chosen to downsize during the pandemic.
In particular, Jung told reporters that IT firms will continue to dominate the Pangyo industrial complex in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, despite the recent relocations of offices of manufacturers, such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and Hyundai Steel, to the area in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
The Cushman Korea research team leader, however, expected new investments in commercial real estate to decrease next year due to rising interest rates.