Price, rentals of Singapore industrial space continue to moderate in Q3

PRICES and rentals of industrial space continued to moderate in tandem with occupancy rates for the third quarter this year, JTC said in its quarterly market report on Thursday.

In Q3 2017, the price and rental indices for the overall industrial property market fell by 0.9 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively from the previous quarter.

Compared to a year ago, the price and rental indices fell by 7.4 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively.

Looking ahead, about 931,000 square metres (sq m) of industrial space, including 198,000 sq m of multiple-user factory space, is estimated to come onstream in the fourth quarter this year, JTC said.

With more supply coming onboard in the coming quarters, prices and rentals are likely to continue softening, JTC added.

Quarter-on-quarter, occupancy rate for the overall industrial property market also fell by 0.1 percentage point to 88.6 per cent.

Based on the number of caveats lodged for industrial properties, transaction volume rose by around 7 per cent in Q3 2017 compared to one year ago, the first year-on-year increase since Q4 2012. Despite this increase, transaction volume remained low compared to three years ago.

From now until end-2018, about 2.3 million sq m of industrial space is estimated to come onstream. This represents about 5 per cent of the current industrial stock, JTC said.