Retail rents could see short-term pressure before recovering in 2022

RETAIL property rents could face further pressure in the near term, following the extension of safe-management measures, but analysts say that a recovery could be on the cards in 2022 as restrictions ease and Singapore introduces more vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs).

The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) retail rental index, released on Friday (Oct 22), showed that rents in the central region continued to retreat in the third quarter, falling by a sharper 2.7 per cent after chalking up a 0.5 per cent dip in Q2.

This is the seventh consecutive quarter of decline, with dining limited to groups of two vaccinated individuals and many employees continuing to work from home (WFH).