Singapore Office Vacancy Could Hit 10%

SINGAPORE – Real estate consultancy CBRE disclosed that the local office sector is witnessing increasing vacancy pressure, according to a report from Singapore Business Review (SBR) that was published on Monday morning (12 June, SGT).

“Previously a tightly supplied market, Singapore, will see availability increase due to the release of some shadow space from tech companies, together with the delivery of one sizable new project apiece in H2 2023,” stated CBRE.

From about 5 percent last year, the real estate consultancy expects the overall office vacancy level in Singapore could reach around 10 percent by end-2023.

Meanwhile, CBRE announced in a recent Linkedin post that it brokered the sale of three office floors at the 37-level Springleaf Tower in Tanjong Pagar. However, it didn’t disclose the selling price.

“Springleaf Tower has a floor plate of approximately 10,000 sq ft a floor, boasting unblocked views of the city, and enjoys direct connectivity to Tanjong Pagar MRT Station,” stated the property consultancy.

Elsewhere in Singapore’s central business district (CBD), investors are also buying up strata titled office floors in Grade A office properties, which are in limited supply, like Suntec City in Marina Centre and Samsung Hub in Raffles Place.

Global Impact Assets’ Founder and Managing Partner Gillian Chee told Mingtiandi that these commercial properties are seeing strong demand due to their potential for capital appreciation.

“New supply of grade A offices are at a 10-year low. As such, rents are still on an uptrend albeit a slower rate of growth,” Chee explained.

“Owner occupiers have started to look to buy as a hedge against inflation less deterred by the rising interest rates than investors,” she added.