SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Rents and prices of Singapore industrial properties continued to rise in the first quarter of 2022, although overall occupancy rates dipped, according to JTC's quarterly market report released on Thursday (April 28).

Industrial space prices rose 2.1 per cent quarter on quarter and 5.6 per cent year on year in the first quarter, while rents climbed 1 per cent quarter on quarter and 2.4 per cent year on year.

The overall occupancy rate for the industrial property market slipped to 89.8 per cent in the first quarter, down 0.4 percentage point from the previous quarter and 0.2 percentage point from the year-ago period. This was mainly due to new completions picking up significantly, and an increase in supply exceeding new demand.

Total available stock rose by 333,000 sq m compared with the previous quarter - the highest quarterly increase since 2019. In contrast, total occupied stock gained 71,000 sq m in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the previous quarter.

As at end-March, JTC expects 2.4 million sq m of new industrial space to hit the market in the next three quarters of 2022. It projects single-user factory space to comprise 46 per cent of upcoming supply, multiple-user factory space to take up 28 per cent and the remaining 25 per cent to be from warehouse and business park space.

During the quarter, JTC allocated a total of 91,800 sq m of ready-built facilities (RBF) space to industrialists, which included 64,400 sq m of high-rise space and 20,300 sq m of land-based factory space.

Total RBF returns in the fourth quarter of 2021 were 120,600 sq m, of which 50,800 sq m was high-rise space and 64,500 sq m was land-based factory space. About 88 per cent of total returns were due to natural expiries or companies consolidating their operations, JTC noted.

Looking ahead, JTC expects demand for industrial space to remain robust, barring any sharp slowdown in the global economy.

Credit: Straits Times