19 May 2009
Singapore property market records region's worst contraction in Q1
By Mok Fei Fei, 938LIVE

SINGAPORE: Singapore's property market is among the worst-performing in Asia for the first quarter of this year.

A report by property consultant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) found that Singapore's prime office rents recorded the region's worst contraction.

Compared with the first quarter of 2008, prime office rents in Singapore fell by 34 per cent, followed by Hong Kong which was down by 32 per cent.

In terms of retail rents, Singapore – along with Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tokyo and Beijing – saw declines, despite retail rents in other Asian cities holding up relatively well over the same period.

Shrinking global demand also put downward pressure on rents at industrial properties in Singapore and elsewhere.

In addition, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan suffered the biggest fall in property investment sales volume.

The CBRE report, examining the impact of the global downturn on real estate, also found that Asian property investment sales fell 83 per cent to US$3.1 billion.

CBRE added that the commercial real estate market worldwide will continue to remain challenging for the rest of the year.