Singapore business park vacancy falls to 21.2% in Q3

The fall was mainly driven by the one-north area.

In a recent report, Savills said due to the improved occupancy in the one-north area, the islandwide vacancy level for business parks in Singapore fell by 0.5 of a ppt QoQ to 21.2% in Q3.

“Nonetheless, the overall leasing demand for business parks remains weak, including some prime business park clusters such as Mapletree Business City and Science Park. Most of the leasing interest comes from tenants who are looking to downsize, upgrade from older developments or relocate from offices,” the report added.

Here’s more from Savills:

In view of subdued demand for business park spaces, some landlords have become more flexible in their rental expectations in order to attract prospective tenants. As such, rents continued to soften, with the index of business park rents tracked by JTC edging down 0.2% QoQ in Q3.

The monthly rents for Savills’ standard business parks also slipped by 0.2% QoQ to S$4.06 per sq ft, while those for Savills’ prime business parks fell by 6.2% QoQ to S$5.92 per sq ft in Q3.

Similarly for high-spec industrial spaces, the tracked rents posted the first decline since Q2/2021, with Savills’ high-spec industrial basket monthly rents decreasing by 0.8% QoQ to S$3.93 per sq ft in Q3.