CBD office rents jump over 14% in 2014, record largest gain in Asia Pacific

Small space occupiers drove up demand.

Office rents in Singapore’s central business district increased over 14% in 2014, recording the strongest gain in the Asia Pacific region.

Data released today by JLL showed that Singapore is the third most expensive locality in the region, after Hong Kong and Beijing and ahead of Shanghai and Tokyo.

Demand was driven up by small space occupiers, primarily firms from the social media, IT and business services industries.

“The short term mismatch between occupier demand and office stock available for lease further lent support to this rise. Looking forward, we can expect the impending supply in Singapore to dampen rental growth as early as the second half of 2015. Typically preleasing works begin six to nine months before the building is physically complete,” stated the report.