Private residential properties in Singapore saw a sharp fall in rentals and a slight price decline in the first quarter of 2009. Real estate consultancy firm DTZ in its report on Tuesday said monthly rentals of luxurious homes slid 18.8 per cent to S$5.20 per square foot, a level not seen since the third quarter of 2006. Rent of units in prime districts also saw a drop, down 16.2 per cent to S$3.65 per...
Rental
Four industry bodies in Singapore have banded together to battle the current downturn. The Singapore Retailers Association, the Restaurant Association of Singapore, the Singapore Jewellers Association, and the Textile and Fashion Federation have pledged to share information and create a unified stance on matters common to their industries. In a joint statement, the four industry bodies say they have tied...
A 40-year-old shopping icon in Orchard Road is at risk of losing its tenants to upcoming malls in the area. Sources told Channel NewsAsia that about half of Shaw Centre's office and retail tenants had moved out within the last six months. Many of them refused to renew their leases after Shaw raised rents by about 100 per cent. Tyan and Betty Barclays, both upmarket boutiques on the ground floor of Shaw,...
Industry watchers said rentals for industrial properties could fall by three to five per cent in the first quarter this year, due to weaker demand and the dismal economic outlook. On the whole, analysts did not expect landlords to cut rents outright. Instead, the landlords might choose more innovative measures to help their tenants cope with the tough times. Manufacturers and exporters had been seeing...
ARE retailers on the verge of crisis or not? As their representative body cries out for help, shoppers who rub shoulders in crowded malls on weekends may be wondering. And at least one major landlord insists, there is no reason to panic, and no justification for an across-the-board cut in rentals. Last week, the Singapore Retailers Association sounded the alarm bells Sales have dropped 20 to 30 per cent...
With the worsening economy, more landlords could see their tenants defaulting on rents. But one landlord in Queenstown has taken matters into his own hands by posting personal details of his errant tenant all over the neighbourhood. The leaflets stated that this man had left suddenly without informing his landlord. He also allegedly made off with the housekeys and has not returned any calls. The...
I REFER to the report "A plea for survival" (Feb 27) about the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) asking landlords to reduce rentals significantly to help retailers cope with the severe economic downturn. The report was an eye-opener, showing that while businesses are trying their best to survive these difficult times, some landlords are trying to earn as much as they can in the short-term. The SRA is...
Association calls for landlords to cut rents by 20-30 per cent, with 20,000 jobs on the line WITH sales plunging by 20 to 30 per cent and profit margins "almost negligible if not negative", 20,000 jobs - that's a fifth of retail employees - are at stake as stores face the real prospect of folding. This is red alert sounded by the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) after an emergency meeting on...
The Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) says that 20,000 employees may be retrenched as a result of store closures, if landlords do not lower rentals. It says members' incomes have contracted by 20 to 30 per cent over the last few months, and that margins are now almost negligible, if not negative. Yet, rental rates have not come down for many retailers, says the association. Occupancy costs have...
Market watchers expect private home rentals in Singapore to slide a further 5 per cent in the first quarter of this year. That is partly due to falling numbers of expatriate staff based in the city state and lower housing budgets allocated to them. Singapore plays home to many foreigners working here. But the numbers could fall as firms cut costs to cope with the global recession. Real estate agency ERA...