Singapore office rents rose 7.2% during the third quarter, the most since 2008, helped by strong demand by both local firms and multinationals based in the city-state, CB Richard Ellis said on Thursday. Prime Singapore office rents reached $7.40 per square foot per month in the July-September period, up from $6.90 per square foot in April-June.

The rise in Singapore office rents exceeded the 3.2% average for Asia but lagged the 10.8% increase in Hong Kong over the same period.

“Concerns over the large volume of secondary stock due to come onstream when major occupiers relocate to the major developments nearing completion have largely dissipated, as a consequence of deals signed in the past few months,” said Moray Armstrong, CBRE Singapore’s executive director for office services.

 

Singapore’s economy is expected to grow 15% this year, the government said earlier on Thursday, at the top end of the previous estimate of 13-15%. 

 

The city-state’s largest office landlords include CapitaCommercial Trust (CACT.SI), which is managed by Southeast Asia’s largest developer CapitaLand (CATL.SI), Keppel Land’s (KLAN.SI) K-REIT Asia (KASA.SI) and Singapore Land (SLND.SI).