Singapore has maintained its position as the third most expensive office location in the Asia Pacific region for the eighth consecutive quarter since the office market bottomed in third quarter 2009.
According to Colliers International Research’s latest Asia Pacific Office Market Overview report, annual gross rents for Grade A offices in the Central Business District (CBD) increased 9 per cent to S$105.31 (US$86.91) per square foot in the second quarter. On a monthly basis, average gross rents increased 6.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter to reach S$8.90 per sq ft per month.
While Colliers said that the office sector in Singapore will continue to be supported by healthy demand drivers, particularly in the banking and professional services sectors, it added that market optimism could be tempered by risks such as the unresolved sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the uncertain US economic recovery.
For the remaining six months of the year, it said rents for Grade A office space in the CBD and the Raffles Place/New Downtown micro-market could slow to not more than 8 per cent.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong continued to be the most expensive office location in the region in the quarter after displacing Tokyo for the first time in the first quarter of 2011.
Prime office annual gross rents in Hong Kong hit S$147.95 (US$122.03) per square foot in the quarter with Tokyo rents coming in at S$127.59 (US$105.26) per square foot.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 4 Aug 2011
