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Steepest fall in office occupancy cost here

Tuesday 04 August 2009

A plunge in Grade A office rents has raised Singapore’s competitive edge somewhat. According to Colliers International, office occupancy costs here were the fourth- highest among 26 Asia- Pacific cities in Q2 this year- down a notch from a quarter ago.

As rents stay weak while the economy stabilizes, property consultants also expect some companies to take advantage of the situation to expand. Colliers noted that monthly gross rents for Grade A offices in Singapore’s central business district (CBD) posted the sharpest fall in Q2, compared with other major cities in the region.

Rents slid 26.2 per cent quarter on quarter, averaging at $6.73 psf per month in Q2. As a result, Singapore fell from third to fourth place in a ranking of office occupancy costs.

Tokyo remained the most expensive place in Asia- Pacific to rent an office- average Grade A CBD office rents there were 2.2 times that of Singapore’s, up from 1.6 ties in Q1.

Source: The Busines Times