Singapore retail vacancy in the suburbs down to a record 4.3% in Q4 2021

This is the lowest vacancy rate since Q3 2015.

Singapore’s overall retail vacancy remained unchanged at 8.1% in the final quarter of 2021. According to Savills, this was largely attributed to the healthy take-up rate in the Suburban Area as hybrid working arrangement continues to divert footfall and spending to suburban malls. 

“As such, the vacancy level in the Suburban Area fell further to 4.3% in Q4, a level not seen since Q3/2015,” Savills said.

Here’s more from Savills:

While retail vacancy in the Rest of Central Area and Fringe Area saw an uptick from the previous quarter due to new completions such as i12 Katong, that in the Downtown Core Planning Area and Orchard Area remained stable from Q3. Hence, overall vacancy level in the Central Region only posted a marginal increase of 0.2 of a percentage point (ppt) QoQ to 10.0% in Q4. 

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA), retail rental index for the Central Region ended a seven consecutive quarterly decline with a 0.6% QoQ increase in Q4. The rental recovery was likely to have come about due to improved business conditions and high vaccination rates. 

Furthermore, the expansion of new vaccinated travel lanes has begun to usher in greater business and some tourist arrivals. Although prime retail rents remained on the downtrend, the pace of decline continued to moderate in Q4. Savills monthly prime rents3 in Orchard Area decreased by 1.3% QoQ to S$20.90 psf, while in Suburban Area they fell by 1.6% QoQ to S$22.80 psf.