Market
Despite the low indebtedness of the household sector and relatively solid financial system providing some shelter for the financial turmoil, the economy nevertheless experienced a sharp contraction. A marked slowdown of economic activity had already been underway when the financial crisis deepened in the first quarter of 2009. Overall, the economy declined 4.8% in 2009 (2008: -1.0%), more than most other Euro area countries. Real GDP regained some strength in the second half of 2009, turning positive in the third quarter. But still, the depth of the output contraction resulted in the steepest fall in decades, with all major components of GDP growth below the Euro Area average. Both imports and exports suffered a particularly severe decline, contracting 16.1% and 20.1% respectively. Private consumption, down 1.7%, and investments, down 12.8% contributed to the strong drop in GDP. The unemployment rate, however, was below the Euro Area average at 7.9% in 2009 and inflation fell to 0.8% from 3.5% in 2008. Retail sales turnover declined 1.8% and 1.5% in terms of volume. Rental growth, which has grown at a healthy pace for several years now, stabilised under the influence of the recession. The shopping centre industry has performed relatively well as a whole over the past couple of years. Retailers continue to show interest in taking up new space, and as new shopping centre space meeting the needs of modern retail formats becomes available, new entrants are expected to enter the market. Interest in the most prime locations increased, despite the recession. The rents in secondary locations have weakened somewhat however.
Source: Annual Report 2009, Chapter Review of Operations, page 59 (PDF, 6.362 kB)
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