Chart of the Day: Office occupancy rate in the CBD down 1.5 ppt in Q2

The subzone recorded a negative net absorption of 463,000 sqft.

This chart from EDMUND TIE showed that the occupancy rate of office properties in the core business district (CBD) fell 1.5 ppt QoQ to 93.1% in Q2. Although it still posted the highest rate across subzones at 93.1%, it showed the biggest drop in figures.

This decline was driven by a negative net absorption of 463,000 sqft. Furthermore, many employees worked from home and adopted various teleconferencing tools to communicate, especially amidst the circuit breaker measures.

“Despite the current cautious and soft market, there were still several new companies who established their offices in Singapore in Q2 2020, most of which were from the technology and financial sectors,” the report noted.

Islandwide, occupancy rates of office developments contracted by 0.8 ppt QoQ to 92.8%, largely due to the contraction of demand in the CBD and CBD Fringe subzones. The latter saw a negative net absorption of 12,000 sqft.