The office and industrial property markets in Singapore are showing signs of improvement.
Property consultancy firm DTZ Research said that office occupancy rates have improved in the first quarter of 2010. The average office occupancy rate in the country rose 0.7 percentage-point on-quarter to 92.4 percent.
According to DTZ, this improvement in occupancy rates was attributed to an increase in demand.
No new office space has been completed during the first quarter of 2010.
However, office rents will bottom out only by the end of the year, or sometime next year, depending on whether the economy grows stronger than expected.
Separately, consultancy firm CBRE said that several existing commercial building owners have been driven towards redevelopment by the booming residential market.
According to CBRE’s projection, about 1.2 million sq ft of office space will be converted to mainly residential use up until 2013.
DTZ expects the industrial rental market to bottom out this year, with the economy on a growth path.
However, they warn that with the new supply coming on stream, recovery will be at a slow pace.