Bookmark & Share
Singapore’s office market remained subdued during the fourth quarter of 2016, with prime office rents down 1.5 percent quarter-on-quarter and 11.9 percent year-on-year, revealed Knight Frank.
In Q4 2016, the consultancy’s Asia Pacific Prime Office Rental Index increased 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter and two percent year-on-year.
The increase comes as 12 of the 19 markets tracked recorded positive rental growths, an improvement from eight in Q3 2016.
“Across the region, international companies are taking a cautious approach to mitigate the negative effects of an uncertain global economy. Increasingly, markets with robust absorption and sustained demand from a diverse group of local firms will continue to experience growth,” said Nicholas Holt, Head of Research, Asia Pacific at Knight Frank.
Bangkok emerged as the strongest performing office market across major Asia Pacific cities, with rents increasing five percent quarter-on-quarter and 8.7 percent year-on-year in Q4 2016.
“Rents have been on the rise since Q3 2014 due to limited high-grade office supply in the CBD,” explained Knight Frank.
The Indian cities of Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru occupied the second, third and fourth places, as rents in these cities increased 4.8 percent, 4.3 percent and 3.1 percent respectively from the previous quarter.
The weakest performing office market is Jakarta, with rents dropping 5.3 percent quarter-on-quarter and 18.2 percent year-on-year.
Looking ahead, Knight Frank expects prime office rents in 12 cities to increase or remain steady, down from the previous forecast of 14.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
Related Articles:
More co-working spaces in Singapore