Moscow's retail development pipeline is drying out as developers focus on small schemes of less than 5,000 m2 gross lettable area, according to data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield.

At the beginning of the year developers announced that 12 quality shopping centers with total GLA of 328,000 m2 were to be delivered in 2011. So far only three of them have been delivered to the market. The current pipeline for the year 2011 is reduced to 227,000 m2, with quality projects with total GLA of 91,000 m2 are planned to be delivered in 2012-2013.

The overall situation in Russia looks brighter, with large schemes being constructed and delivered in the main regional cities. During the past three quarters 14 projects - three in Moscow - has been delivered with GLA of 524 000 m2. Seven of the schemes were delivered in Q3. More than 2,000,000 m2 GLA is to be build in 2012.

Total real estate investment volumes in Russia year-to-date to the end of the third quarter came to EUR 4.8 bn - 60% higher than in 2010. Retail accounts for 43% of investment this year, knocking the office sector from the top position.

'Due to active consumer spending, retail remains to be the most stable comparing with other sectors and seen as the save haven for investors,' said Lada Belyachuk, deputy head of Russian research at Cushman & Wakefield.