The strong demand for office space in the central business district has spilled over to the rest of Singapore.

The strong demand for office space in the central business district has spilled over to the rest of Singapore.

According to property consultants DTZ, the occupancy rate for office space islandwide climbed to 97.6 percent in the third quarter.

This is largely because of an acute shortage of office space in the Central Business District (CBD).

DTZ says the shortage is due to the demolition of Asia Chambers Building and the alteration works being done at two office blocks, OUB Building and Ocean Building.

The office market saw a net loss of 455,000 square feet of stock in the three months to September.

Occupancy rates in Raffles Place rose by 1.1 percent from the previous quarter.

With higher asking rents and lack of office space in the CBD, many companies have flocked to the CBD fringe and decentralised areas.

This has boosted occupancy in these regions with the Alexandra area, for example, rising 3.5 percent to full occupancy.

Average monthly rents for Alexandra have increased by 13 percent to S$6.80 per square foot per month from the second quarter.

Another area, Novena, achieved 98.5 percent occupancy. - CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 28 Sep 2007