TODAY ONLINE : Office take-up rate higher

Office take-up rate higher

05:55 AM Aug 20, 2010



SINGAPORE - The improving economic climate and stronger business confidence have boosted office space take-up rates in Singapore and across the Asia-Pacific, and analysts believe that it will get better.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle, the second quarter of this year saw take-up of office space across the Asia-Pacific's Tier I cities spike by 13 per cent on quarter to 1.3 million square metres.

To tap on the growth of the commercial property sector, the founders of property website PropertyGuru, have created a new portal.

CommercialGuru.com.sg is believed to be Singapore's first dedicated portal for commercial properties.

Reports said Singapore has about 44 million square feet - or the size of about 32 UOB buildings - of vacant commercial space today.

CommercialGuru currently lists over 7,000 available vacant properties in Singapore and the region, a figure that is expected to double over the next year. Its chief executive and co-founder Mr Steve Melhuish, said: "For users, there's an increasing focus on commercial property as a result of not just the macro-economic demand but also in terms of investors shifting from residential."

Mr Melhuish also said his website had a number of Malaysian developers who are promoting their properties on the site's overseas section. May Wong



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