Moderating prices, rents for industrial space offer relief

[SINGAPORE] Businesses may not face more months of sharp increases in industrial prices and rents as a huge supply of completed industrial space - about six million square metres - comes onstream from now until 2016. While prices and rentals of industrial space continued to rise in the first quarter, the pace was significantly lower than the average annual increase in the past four years, according to data released by JTC Corporation yesterday.

The first quarter saw transaction prices of industrial space increase 3.8 per cent quarter on quarter and 2.5 per cent year on year, compared to an average annual growth of about 20 per cent in the last four years.

Industrial rentals rose 0.4 per cent quarter on quarter and 4.9 per cent year on year, compared to an average annual growth of about 10 per cent in the last four years.