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Singapore retail rents stabilising at suburban malls; may bottom out by early 2021

Overall retail rents expected to fall by 10% to 15% for 2020, while those in suburban regions will likely decline by 7.5%

Fiona Lam

Published Fri, Oct 16, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore property

Singapore

THE increased activity in Singapore's retail sector hints at a bottoming out of rents by the end of 2020 or early 2021, Knight Frank's research team said in a report published on Friday.

Overall retail rents are expected to fall by 10 per cent to 15 per cent for the whole of this year due to recessionary pressures and safe-distancing restrictions, said the real estate consultancy.

However, in the suburban region, rents of retailers will likely decline by just 7.5 per cent or less.

"As physical retail stores resumed operations, shopper traffic also returned to a greater extent in the suburban malls, compared to the centrally located ones that are more reliant on the tourist dollar," Knight Frank analyst…