URA's office rental, price indices ease in Q1; vacancy also down

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) index for office rentals in Singapore eased 2.1 per cent quarter on quarter in the first quarter of this year, a bigger drop compared with the 1.8 per cent decline in Q4 of last year.

Its price index for office space shed 0.3 per cent in Q1 2016 after easing 0.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

URA numbers show the vacancy rate for offices dipped to 9.2 per cent as at the end of Q1 2016 from 9.5 per cent as at end-Q4 2015.

As at the end of Q1 2016, there was a total supply of slightly more than one million square metres of gross floor area of office space in the pipeline.

URA said the amount of occupied office space rose by 1,000 sq m (net) in the first quarter - contrasting with the decrease of 10,000 sq m (net) in the previous quarter. On the other hand, the stock of office space shrank by 23,000 sq m (net) in Q1 2016, a bigger drop than the decrease of 21,000 sq m (net) in the previous quarter.