Singapore Offices 2H/2021

SINGAPORE OFFICE RENTS – DEATH OF THE RENTAL CYCLE?
We have at times been asked by institutional investors, credit risk managers and sophisticated tenants what the typical length of the Singapore office rental cycle is. After all, cycles cause rising anxiety levels when the market has risen through a multi-year cycle and vice versa. For the Singapore office market, a study of rental cycles is long overdue and cursory enquiries of academicians suggest that there have not been any studies for perhaps over two decades.

For this piece, we will look at the short and medium-term behaviour of Singapore office rents in the Central Area and then at the length of the rental cycle (if any). From the findings, we will forecast CBD Grade A A A office rents until the end of 2026. Data was obtained from both the UR A and Savills own basket of Grade A A A office rents. 

The collective actions of tenants and landlords reacting to the pandemic may create a shortage of office space by the next lease cycle.