Singapore’s 2022 prime retail rents still 9.2% below pre-pandemic levels

Islandwide rents grew 1.6% to $25.15psf per month in 2022.

As more workers return to the office and tourists start coming in, retail rents for Orchard Road, City Hall/Marina Centre and Fringe areas in Singapore continue to recover in Q4 2022. 

Coupled with the resilience of the suburban market, CBRE says islandwide prime rents rose for the second consecutive quarter. As such, islandwide rents in 2022 increased by 1.6% to $25.15 psf pm, which was still 9.2% below pre-pandemic (Q4 2019) levels. 

Here’s more from CBRE:

Leasing activity continued to pick up in Q4 2022. Demand was primarily driven by F&B operators, especially for locations near or within hotels as they sought to capitalise on increased footfall from tourists. 

Supermarkets and jewellery and watches stores also increased their presence in the quarter as the latter continued to see strong growth in sales, driven partly by revenge consumption and higher savings during the pandemic. 

Islandwide rents to continue recovering in 2023 

Landlords have continued to raise rents amid improved shopper traffic and retail sales. In the near term, retailers may continue to face challenges such as manpower shortage, higher operating costs, ongoing competition from e-commerce, an economic slowdown and a GST hike. 

Nonetheless, with improved mobility, further increase in tourist arrivals from the re-opening of China’s borders and below-historical-average new retail supply in the next few years, CBRE Research expects overall retail rents to continue recovering in 2023.