Singapore office rents rise to fresh record in Q1 - DTZ Debenham

Wed, Apr 2 2008, 03:26 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Office rents in Singapore continued to rise in the first quarter due to robust demand and limited supply of new office space, with some buildings in the central business district charging record monthly rents of S$20 to S$21 per square foot, property consultant DTZ Debenham Tie Leung

(SEA) Pte Ltd said on Wednesday.

Average monthly rents in the Raffles Place business district stood at S$18.80 per square foot in

the first quarter, up 13.9 percent from the fourth quarter, DTZ said.

Occupancy levels of office buildings across the city-state stood at a healthy 97.1 percent as demand for office space, particularly from financial institutions remained strong, it said.

Besides occupying prime office buildings in the central business district, financial institutions have also been leasing space in business parks in the suburbs, DTZ said. Average monthly rents for business parks stood at S$4.20 per square foot in the first quarter, up 7.7 percent from the fourth quarter.

Office space is expected to remain limited in the next few years.

Between 2008 and 2012, DTZ expects property developers to add approximately 10.2 million square feet of new office space in the area. About 23 percent of these new buildings have been pre-committed to tenants, it said.

At 10.58 a.m. (0258 GMT), CapitaLand shares were up 3.4 percent at S$6.70, City

Developments jumped 4.7 percent to S$12.10 and Keppel Land rose 4.9 percent to S$5.97.

($1= S$1.37)