Leasing activity softened in the last quarter of 2014 as expatriate arrivals slowed down amid the year-end holidays and festivities, according to a report by Colliers International.
“Mounting competition from both newly completed and existing developments continued to take a toll on landlords, particularly investors servicing mortgages,” it said.
Research by Colliers International also showed the average monthly gross rents of luxury/super-luxury apartments, which have dropped since Q2 2011, continued to ease in Q2 2014.
Following 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) decrease in Q3 2014, rents moderated by another 0.8 percent q-o-q to $5.13 per sq ft per month as of the end of December 2014.
For 2014 as a whole, the average monthly gross rents for luxury/super-luxury apartments decreased further by 4.6 percent compared with the 2.1 percent dip in 2013.
Moving forward, landlords of luxury/super-luxury apartments are likely to be more open to negotiations in order to quickly secure tenants with good profiles in view of upcoming supply pressures, according to the report.
Colliers International said, “This may lead the average monthly gross rents of luxury/super-luxury apartments to slide at a faster rate than the 4.6 percent seen in 2014, in the range of between five and eight percent in 2015.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
