No trading up, expansion for most office renters

Business sentiments have been adversely affected by events in the west. Given the murky outlook for the global economy and the pressing need to maintain Singapore’s competitive edge, it is unlikely that the JTC Corporation (JTC) would raise land prices further in the months ahead. Capital values and rents of single-user industrial space should also remain stable in the year ahead, balanced by cautious user demand and limited availability.

Growth in office rents slowed and has likely reached peak levels, resulting in less cost incentives for qualifying office users to relocate to high-specs space. Given the cloudy economic outlook, leasing activities in the short to medium term ahead, is likely to be dominated by renewals and consolidations. As such, high-specs rents are expected to stay stable, with an increase of up to 5.0% for ground floor space, in the year ahead.