SINGAPORE: Singapore's retail rents remained
resilient in Q2 2012, supported by a high employment rate and
tourist arrivals.
According to property consultancy DTZ, the average
rents of prime retail space in Orchard/Scotts Road rose marginally
by 0.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter to S$30.33 per sq ft per month.
Meanwhile, average rents in suburban areas increased 0.2 per cent
to S$28.35 per sq ft per month.
However, DTZ said average retail rents in Singapore
are expected to remain flat for the rest of the year. This is due
to uncertainties in the eurozone which could curtail consumer
spending as well as the tight labour market which could hamper
retailers' expansion plans.
Meanwhile, Singapore is also seeing supply-side pressure from the
development pipeline such as The [email protected], orchardgateway,
Westgate, Jem, Star Vista, which will be completed in 2012 and
2013.
Ms Chua Chor Hoon, Head of DTZ Asia Pacific Research, said, "While
landlords are becoming more selective in offering space to control
their tenant mix, retailers are at the same time getting more
careful in committing to rental space as they desire prime frontage
and good shopper traffic.
"This has resulted in temporary vacancies in some shopping centres,
especially those in non-prime locations, as landlords were not able
to find the right mix of tenants."
-CNA/ac
