Prices, rentals of industrial space in Singapore continue to moderate in Q2

Prices and rentals of industrial space in Singapore continued to moderate in the second quarter of 2017, JTC said on Thursday in its quarterly market report.

In Q2 2017, the price and rental indices for the overall industrial property market fell by 1.6 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively from the previous quarter. Compared to a year ago, the price and rental indices fell by 8.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent.

In the second half of 2017, about 1.4 million sqm of industrial space, including 311,000 sqm of multiple-user factory space, was estimated to come on-stream.

"This is likely to exert further downward pressure on occupancy rates, prices and rentals, translating to reduced business costs for industrialists,'' JTC said.

In Q2, the occupancy rate for the overall industrial property market fell by 0.7 percentage points on both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year basis to 88.7 per cent.

Based on the number of caveats lodged for industrial properties, the transaction volume fell by around 28 per cent in Q2, compared to a year ago.

In the second half of 2017 and 2018, about 2.5 million square metres of industrial space is estimated to come onstream. This is about 5 per cent of the industrial stock, JTC said.