Singapore’s prime office market slips to 9th place in Savills’ global rankings

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s prime office market dropped three spots to ninth in Savills’ latest global rankings, even as occupancy costs moderately increased in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025).

Singapore Business Review reported, citing the latest Savills Prime Office Costs report, that the city-state’s net effective occupancy costs, including rent and fit-out expenses, increased by 1% in Q1 2025.

Still, cities like Riyadh and Mumbai recorded sharper cost growth, which pushed them ahead and led to Singapore’s drop in the global index. Mumbai, for instance, recorded a 5.2% jump in office costs due to low vacancy rates.

The report also showed that average growth across Asia-Pacific was fairly muted, at just 0.1%. Meanwhile, in China, prime office costs dropped as softer economic conditions weighed on demand.

Alan Cheong, executive director of research and consultancy at Savills Singapore, noted that while Singapore had moved down to ninth place, occupancy costs were still on the rise—just at a “lower rate”.

He added that limited supply of Grade A office space in the city-state’s central business district (CBD) would likely keep costs elevated for the rest of the year. “However, we expect our rankings to hover around the same level as in Q1 2025,” he said.

In late March, prime office rents in Raffles Place and Marina Bay stayed at S$11.36 per square foot (psf) per month for Q1 2025, the same as the previous quarter but 1.4% higher than the previous year, according to a report from Knight Frank. /TISG 

Read also: Demand for prime properties soars as HNWIs increase in Malaysia

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