Commercial property rents, values seen falling further

Singapore

EVEN as tenant demand for commercial property has fallen at its fastest pace in Q1 this year since the depths of the financial crisis in 2009, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is anticipating a further drop in capital values and rents over the coming year.

On the occupier market front, demand fell last quarter across all sectors even as available space continued to rise. About 64 per cent of surveyors expect rents to fall further over in the next quarter, and 65 per cent expect the downward trend to continue into next year. At the 12-month horizon, respondents expect rental values to fall by 5.8 per cent, with all sectors forecast to see a substantial decline.