Industrial property market leasing declines 34.1% QoQ in Q2

The total number of leases for the quarter was 2,077.

Leasing in the industrial property market declined by 34.1% QoQ to 2,077 in Q2, data from Knight Frank showed.

On a year-on-year comparison, leasing volume declined by 39.6%. 

With lower leasing volume, industrial sales also decreased by 4.9% QoQ and 30.2$ YoY to $661.5m.

For Q2, demand for industrial space was mainly driven by the food industry. 

"Occupiers are actively on the lookout for food factories and central kitchens in Singapore," Knight Frank said.

The firm added that food companies also increased their stockpiling activity amidst rising global concerns on food security and access to raw materials and necessities.

Given the increase in their inventories, occupiers also needed additional warehouse space.

With expanded demand for warehouse space, rental transactions for such space hit 212, the highest number of tenancies on a monthly basis since data became available.

The record-high transaction also brought the cumulative median rental for warehouses to S$1.85 psf pm in April and May.

READ MORE: Over 6.36 hectares of industrial land supply launched for H2

Whilst the industrial property market took a tumble during the second quarter, Knight Frank said the space is still on track to grow 3% to 5% for the entire 2022.

"The persisting chip shortage globally will continue to generate demand for electronics, and the transport engineering cluster will benefit from the increased demand for air travel as travel accelerates in many parts of the world," Knight Frank said.