By Tania Lam
KUCHING: Shopping malls versus commercial shop lots – each have their own benefits over the other, and in the end, it depends on the type of business.
“Commercial shoplots are facing competition with shopping complexes. Shopping complexes are convenient, but shoplots are lower in cost and tend to be in better, more localised areas,” said Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developer Association (Sheda) vice president and Kuching branch chairman Sim Kiang Chiok.
He added that there were more benefits of shoplots over shopping malls, such as lower maintenance and better visibility.
“Also, not all retail trades are suitable to be in complexes, such as tyre shops, laundrettes, small cafés or restaurants, hardware stores, sundry shops, and hostels,” he remarked.
When asked about the abundance of vacant commercial shoplots in Kuching, Sim stated that many are still vacant because of the slow take-up rate in sales or rental.
“Completed shoplots can usually take up to three to four years for all the shops to be fully occupied.
“This is because the property developer would have sold a significant number of shoplots to buyers. These new shoplot owners might not be the end users, but are instead investors waiting to get their returns through good rental,” he said.
Sim added that commercial developments in secondary areas are usually slower to be occupied.
He reasoned, “These places likely have poor visibility and accessibility.”
