SHANGHAI'S retail property market saw generally modest growth in rental prices in the first half of this year.

Also, the large amount of new rentals scheduled to come out over the next couple of months may constrain price growth though no major impact should be expected, major international real estate services providers said.

The average ground floor fixed rent in mid- to high-end shopping centers in the city rose 1.1 percent annually in the first six months to 40.7 yuan (US$6.6) per square meter, with demand mainly from the luxury, fashion, food and beverage, entertainment and education sectors, Colliers International said in its latest report.

On the supply side, two new mid- to high-end shopping centers, with a combined gross floor area space of around 83,500 square meters, were completed during the six-month period, bringing the local stock to 3.4 million square meters as of June, a year-on-year increase of 2.8 percent.

"We expect the market to remain stable in the second half despite the upcoming large supply," said Annie Houn, director of retail services for Colliers' East China operation. "However, there should be a reasonable increase in the city's overall vacancy rate while rental growth might also be constrained in the short term."

Five new projects, with a combined retail space of more than 570,000 square meters, are expected to open across the city between July and December, according to the latest research released by Savills.

Prospects for prime projects shall remain stable in terms of both rents and occupancy while competition in emerging or decentralized areas is increasing, with developers' reputation and leasing expertise becoming more important for success, Savills predicted.