Industrial rents edged up 0.5% in Q3

Clusters in Bukit Merah are amongst those with the highest surge.

Knight Frank said the overall island-wide rents for conventional industrial space rose by 0.5% QoQ to $1.98 per sq ft per month in Q3, thanks to higher rentals in four clusters.

Based on Knight Frank’s basket of industrial properties, the clusters in Bukit Merah, Alexandra, Jalan Kilang, and Pasir Panjang reported the strongest appreciation in rents, with a 1.8% QoQ increase to $2.83 psf pm.

The largest decline in rents was seen in the Clementi – Toh Tuck – Bukit Batok cluster during Q3, which dropped 1.4% QoQ from $1.42 psf pm to $1.40 psf pm. Knight Frank said it was due to lower rental transactions reported from factory buildings like Enterprise Hub.

Meanwhile, business park rents remained unchanged for two quarters at $4.24 psf pm.

Island-wide rental transactions for single-user factory units rose from 85 in Q2 to 108 records in Q3.

The North region reported the biggest increase with seven more transactions compared to the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, rental transactions for multiple-user factory units fell from a high of 2,004 in Q2 to 1,892, with the West Region reporting the biggest drop in the number of transactions from 336 to 276.

Total warehouse unit rental transactions rose from 312 in Q2 to 358 in Q3, signalling a rise in interest for warehouse spaces. The East Region reported the biggest increase in the number of transactions from 38 to 54.