Blog

As we celebrate Earth Day on 22 April 2021 with the theme ‘Restore our Earth’, let’s reflect on what it means to take care of our earth. 

Led by China, Asia Pacific’s online retail market is already ahead of its peers in many areas, such as having a well-developed logistics network and transportation system, and an advanced online payment system. 

As the country climbs back from the steep recession, the latest budget is calibrated towards the safe reopening of the economy and those who lagged behind, including the hardest-hit sectors and vulnerable social segments as well as initiatives that aim to generate the most bang for the buck in the long term.

With the office market continuing to face significant challenges as working from home is expected to remain widespread and a rise in retrenchments resulting in a number of firms giving up spaces, many investors are wondering – are office REITs still a viable investment? 

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the pace of technological adoption across the built environment, and especially within facilities management. 

The Singapore office market has steadily shifted from a landlord-friendly to a neutral tenant-friendly market as leasing activity continues to soften.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a material and unprecedented impact on the global economy, radically disrupting work environments right around the world. Work from home has prompted corporate occupiers to seek more flexible work arrangements and technology is enabling companies to allow remote working.

The demand for new office space in Singapore in the near term is likely to remain weak because remote working is continuing to be the default mode of operation, even after the circuit breaker. 

Private residential prices in Singapore rose by 0.3% qoq in Q2 2020, differing from earlier flash estimates of -1.1% qoq. The change in trend can be attributed to increased sales activity post circuit breaker in June, after two consecutive months of muted sales in April and May. 

Office prices in Singapore continued to decline in Q2 2020, marking the fourth consecutive fall in office prices since Q3 2019. Meanwhile, Central Region retail prices and rents fell by 1.5% qoq and 3.5% qoq respectively in Q2 2020, reflecting the disruption of COVID-19 on tenant sales and footfalls.

Latest Q2 data from JTC show that industrial rents in Singapore fell by 0.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter (qoq) in Q2 2020. 

Adjusting and maintaining HVAC systems during Singapore’s Circuit Breaker.