Q3 rents for business parks lifted by steady demand

Business parks remain a bright spot amid the gloom surrounding industrial property, with rents moving up in the third quarter, said consultants DTZ.

It noted that average monthly rent was $5 per square foot (psf) in the three months to Sept 30 – up 2 per cent on the second quarter, a rate of growth that has been maintained all year.

The demand for business parks was due in part to “the spillover from higher office rents”, DTZ reported yesterday.

“There are more cases of qualifying office occupiers who are drawn by the lower business park rents relative to office rents,” said Ms Cheng Siow Ying, DTZ’s executive director of business space. She noted that the difference in rent can be as high as 30 per cent.

Ms Cheng cited Galaxis, a business space in one-north slated to be completed by the end of the year. It has already garnered a pre-commitment rate of more than 40 per cent, with signed leases from firms such as Canon, Oracle and Electrolux. “The movement of qualifying office occupiers to business parks is expected to continue as average office rents continue to rise,” she added.

While business parks are enjoying better times, average monthly rent for some conventional industrial space has stayed flat. First-storey rents came in at $2.20 psf from the second quarter while those for upper floors stayed at $1.80 psf.

There were 203 sales of strata-titled industrial property in the third quarter, down about 36 per cent from the second quarter. There have been 842 transactions so far this year, significantly lower than the 1,986 in the same period last year.

A report from CBRE, also out yesterday, found that the rent gap between business parks in the city fringe and those in the rest of the island widened to 33 per cent in the third quarter, up from 29 per cent in the second quarter.

“Occupiers are more keen on higher specifications and quality developments which (business parks in the) city fringe have been able to provide,” said Mr Michael Tay, executive director of office services at CBRE.

“Location and connectivity are also important considerations which prompt occupiers to pay the premiums in rent.” He added that the difference in rent for business parks in the city fringe and those in the rest of the island is expected to “stabilise”. “Rent in new developments will edge up but this increase is likely to be restrained by older assets that offer more competitive rents.”

– See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/steady-demand-lifts-q3-rents-business-parks#sthash.H3yW1UOD.dpuf

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New firms lease offices in CBD as banks downsize

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/breaking-news/singapore/new-firms-lease-offices-cbd-banks-downsize-20140812

THE e-commerce, consumer products and insurance industries are the new faces occupying offices in Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD), as banks continue to restructure, downsize their offices and cut their headcount.

This was according to an article JLL published on Monday.

Google, for instance, has expanded six times and now has its headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region spanning four floors in Asia Square. The same building in Marina Bay has also drawn a cluster of re-insurers such as Swiss Re and Scor, on top of the traditional financial companies, it said.

The mix can make for odd bedfellows. “You have this very bizarre dichotomy of Citibank bankers in their shiny shoes and guys in flip flops and shorts in the same elevator,” says Hugh Andrew, the head of asset management for the Asia Pacific at BlackRock. BlackRock owns the building via one of its funds.

Burlington Square

Address: 175 Bencoolen Street
Type of Development: Apartment / Commercial
Tenure: 99 years
District: 07
No. of Units: 179
Year of Completion: 1998
Developer: Wintrust Investment Pte Ltd (WingTai)
Unit sizes:
Studio: 667 sq ft
2 bedrooms: 861 – 990 sq ft
3 bedrooms: 1,119 – 1,350 sq ft
Penthouse: 3,035 sq ft

Burlington Square is primarily used for Office rental and sale. Burlington Square is close to Bugis MRT Station (EW12) and Bras Basah MRT Station (CC2). Upcoming new MRT station Rochor Station (DT13) will be less than 2 minutes walking distance from it.

It is near to several bus stops located opposite Burlington Square – 07517, after Sim Lim Square – 07531 and at Fortune Centre – 07518.

 

Condo Facilities at Burlington Square

Facilities are full and include covered car park, 24 hours security, swimming pools, BBQ pits, gym, tennis courts, steam bath, and a multi-purpose hall. Some units have roof gardens and there is also a communal viewing terrace that offers residents an outstanding view of the city skyline.

 

Amenities Burlington Square

Reputable schools such as Laselle College of the Arts and Singapore Management University are both within walking distances.

Cinema, restaurants and eating establishments, supermarkets, and shops are located at the nearby Bugis Junction Shopping Centre. Residents can go to the neighboring Sim Lim Square for a range of computer and electronic products at competitive prices.

Numerous other restaurants and eating establishments are scattered around the development. In addition, there are numerous pubs and bars located at Selegie Road, which is a stone’s throw away. Burlington Square has several eateries located within its buildings such as Café Lyubi Menya and Burger King Fast Food Restaurant.

Attractions like Fort Canning Park and Little India are just around the corner and interested residents can scour through the huge collection of books and electronic media available at the nearby 7-storey Singapore National Library.

For vehicle owners, travelling to the business hub and the buzzing Orchard Road shopping belt takes about 5 minutes, via Victoria Street and Bukit Timah Road respectively.

Burlington Square is within reasonable distance to NTUC Fairprice Supermarket. It is also an array of amenities such as grocery, retail shopping, banks and more.

Burlington Square is accessible via Bencoolen Street, Rochor Road and Jalan Besar.

 

District 7’s new gate to the city

District 7 is getting  a lot of buzz recently. The impending launch of the City Gate mixed development in Jalan Sultan is drawing attention back to the Kampong Glam district.

Its charm as a historical and cultural zone may give it a head start over many areas but it is its location – on the edge of the city centre and close to retail and entertainment amenities – that is its strongest suit, property consultants said.

Plans to develop the surrounding Beach Road and Ophir-Rochor corridor into a district of mixed- use projects will underpin the investment outlook in the mid- to long term, they said.

“The location on the city fringe translates into easy convenience when commuting to the premier shopping belt of Orchard Road or the central business district,” said Ms Chia Siew Chuin, director for research and advisory at Colliers International.

The 30-storey City Gate is on the site of the former Keypoint, which was acquired by World Class Land for S$360 million from Frasers Commercial Trust in 2012.

The 99-year leasehold project in Beach Road will feature 311 flats – one- and two-bedroom units of 431 to 570 sq ft, two-bedroom and three-bedroom dual-key units of 678 to 1,066 sq ft and one- to four-bedroom penthouses that range from 484 to 1,819 sq ft.

It will also have 188 commercial units, ranging from 280 to 3,735 sq ft.

Residential units are expected to go for S$1,900 to S$2,000 per sq ft (psf) and commercial units could sell for S$4,000 to S$5,000 psf, marketing materials show.

This makes it cheaper than the mixed development DUO in Ophir Road, which was launched by developer M+S at an average selling price of S$2,000 psf last November. DUO is in the city centre, unlike City Gate, noted R’ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.

Two 829 sq ft units at the 360-unit Concourse Skyline, developed by Hong Fok Land, went for S$1,810 to S$2,075 psf in the fourth quarter last year. But 101 units remain unsold since the completed project was launched at about S$1,590 psf in 2008.

Ms Christine Li, research head at OrangeTee, said the new supply of homes from City Gate could place pressure on the developer to lower prices at Concourse Skyline to shift units, especially with the cooling measures in place.

Older developments in the area include the 132-unit Textile Centre, where four units have sold at median prices ranging from S$911 to S$926 psf over the past year.

At The Plaza – a strata-titled 32-storey mixed-use building owned by UOL Group – two units changed hands at a median price of S$1,257 psf a year ago.

In this year’s first quarter, 13 leases were signed at The Plaza at a median rent of S$4.06 psf, said Mr Ong. He felt that owners of units in the new developments can expect strong rental demand, saying “this is a convenient location”.

Highly accessible

The location on the city fringe translates into easy convenience when commuting to the premier shopping belt of Orchard Road or the central business district. – Ms Chia Siew Chuin, of Colliers International

– See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/unlocking-the-gate-the-citys-charms#sthash.IQa1Tewc.dpuf