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Warehouses in vogue amid stockpiling, surge in e-commerce

Resilient leasing activity to boost property investment interest in sector, say observers

Kalpana Rashiwala

Published Sun, Jun 14, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore property

Singapore

WHILE most segments of the Singapore property market have been impacted negatively by the Covid-19 outbreak, leasing demand for warehouse space has been resilient in the past three months - on the back of national stockpiling efforts, and a surge in online shopping and e-commerce activity, among other factors.

The leases being signed are mostly short-term, ranging from six months to two years, said Brenda Ong, head of logistics and industrial at Cushman & Wakefield Singapore. "As vacancies tighten in warehouse buildings, some landlords have already started to raise asking rents," she told BT.

In the first four months of this year, leasing activity for warehouse space has fared relatively better than in the other segments of the Singapore industr…