Hanoi’s retail supply is growing outside the CBD area, reports real-estate company CBRE.

With a total of 157,000sqm of retail coming from eight projects under development in fast-growing residential areas with good connecting infrastructure, CBRE says the suburban growth is expected to be attractive to both retailers and consumers.

Malls inside residential complexes will continue to thrive, thanks to a high level of supply in the condominium market. Eight out of 12 future projects up to 2020 are retail podiums. “This format has certain advantages such as potential customers on site and increased traffic because of the residential component, providing extra services and amenities, and improving the image for the whole project,” says the CBRE report.

The company predicts an emerging CBD will soon form in the western area of Hanoi. As the largest retail cluster outside the CBD with 41 per cent of total supply, the Cau Giay, Tu Liem and Thanh Xuan district will maintain its position in the next few years with 83,300sqm of supply in the pipeline.

In the next three years, Aeon Mall Ha Dong, FLC and Vincom shopping centres will supply space to the east, while the north will have a new project from Lotte.

The CBRE report also shows that only 7 per cent of total retail supply in Hanoi is in the CBD, and there has been nothing new since 2013. As a result, retailers have been finding alternatives in shop houses and old buildings around Hoan Kiem Lake (such as the first McDonald’s Hanoi), creating demand for more space.

The CBD’s retail rent is predicted to rise in the coming years.