Strata-titled industrial sales stagnant amid shrinking pool of buyers

And a widening price mismatch.

The relatively-stable prices seen in the multiple-user factory segment is unsurprising – given the continued stalemate in the strata-titled industrial sales segment in 1Q 2015.

According to a report by Colliers, this can be attributed to a confluence of factors, including the traditional lull period due to the Lunar New Year festivities and the lingering effect of the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) requirement.

Additionally, while the majority of sellers continued to maintain their price expectations during the quarter, buyers were anticipating a future price correction and were in no hurry to lock in a purchase.

Amid this widening price mismatch and shrinking pool of ready buyers, developers also withheld the release of units in new projects in 1Q 2015, preferring instead to focus on clearing the unsold inventory in already-launched developments.

According to statistics compiled by JTC as of end-February 2015, some 1,700 units in uncompleted multiple-user developments remained available for sale.

Colliers adds that the increase in overall industrial rents, despite a slight 0.2-percentage point dip in the islandwide average occupancy rate for industrial space to 90.7% as of 1Q 2015, was supported by quarterly rental increases recorded for multiple-user factories (+0.1% QoQ), single-user factories (+0.3% QoQ), business parks (+0.4% QoQ) and warehouses (+0.6% QoQ) during the quarter.