Office space prices in Singapore rose three percent in the first quarter of 2019, continuing the 2.4 percent increase registered in the previous quarter, revealed data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Rentals of office space dipped 0.6 percent after increasing 0.5 percent in Q4 2018.

Total office space supply as at end-Q1 2019 stood at “about 733,000 sq m GFA of office space in the pipeline, compared with the 732,000 sq m GFA of office space in the pipeline in the previous quarter”, said URA.

The amount of occupied space rose by 19,000 sq m (nett) during the period under review, while the stock of office space fell by 6,000 sq m (nett) – resulting in an 11.8 percent drop in island-wide vacancy rate.

Meanwhile, retail space prices decreased by 1.9 percent in Q1 2019, reversing the 1.5 percent increase seen in Q4 2018.

Rentals of retail space also slid by 0.2 percent compared with the 1.2 percent increase in the previous quarter.

As at end-Q1 2019, total supply stood at 364,000 sq m GFA of retail space from projects in the pipeline, down from the 387,000 sq m GFA of retail space in Q4 2018.

The amount of occupied retail space fell by 14,000 sq m (nett) in Q1 2019, while the stock of retail space fell by 2,000 sq m (nett).

“As a result, the island-wide vacancy rate of retail space increased to 8.7 percent at the end of Q1 2019, from 8.5 percent at the end of the previous quarter.”

Source: 29 April 2019, CommercialGuru