Prime office rents rise in 3Q2025 amid limited supply and flight-to-quality moves
The higher growth was mainly credited to the enhancement of IOI Central Blvd Towers to the basket of properties monitored by JLL. Excluding IOI Central Blvd Towers, CBD workplace rents rose by lower than 1%, on par with the last 6 quarters.
Rents for prime office in Singapore continued expanding in 3Q2025, based upon study from real estate consultancies. In its latest quarterly workplace industry record, JLL’s research presents that Grade An office leas in the CBD improved 1.3% q-o-q to $11.83 psf each month (psf pm) previous quarter, the largest quarterly development in 6 quarters.
Knight Frank’s record found that occupancy status for office spaces in the Raffles Place and Marina Bay precinct remained unchanged at 94.7%, whilst general CBD occupancy grown from 93.7% in 2Q2025 to 94.2% in 3Q2025.
” Singapore’s office space market has been holding up well, in part upheld by stronger-than-anticipated financial basics and a much more conducive interest rate environment,” mentions Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research and consultancy for JLL Southeast Asia.
Looking ahead, JLL prepares for CBD Grade A office rental development to remain modest for the remainder of 2025, with full-year development projected to reach approximately 3%. Going into 2026, JLL forecasts workplace rental growth to pick up speed, sustained by a tightening supply pipeline. “As vacancy prices are predicted to tighten between 2025-2027, whole-floor and multi-floor options will come to be significantly restricted, possibly driving rental prices past some lessees’ budget parameters,” remarks Andrew Tangye, head of office leasing and advisory for JLL Singapore.
In a different record, research by Knight Frank shows prime grade office rental fees in the Raffles Place and Marina Bay areas expanded 0.3% q-o-q to hit approximately $11.41 psf pm in 3Q2025. This is similar to the 0.2% q-o-q development recorded in 2Q2025, and brings complete rental growth for the initial 9 months of the year to 0.4%.
Lyndenwoods UOL Group Limited and Singapore Land Group (Singland)
The restricted offered supply, combined with a careful organization atmosphere, led to leasing event being mainly driven by lease renewals, claims Knight Frank. Nonetheless, select occupants, specifically those with ending leases, are picking to relocate to more recent, better-quality structures in tandem with right-sizing or measured growth. Instances of these include tech firm Zoom Communications moving from Asia Square Tower to IOI Central Boulevard Towers, whilst quantitative trading company Jane Street is preparing to expand its area in the latter.
Given the unpredictable global environment, Knight Frank anticipates sentiment to remain cautious among office occupants over the next 6 to 12 months. “Thus, prime rental growth for the last quarter of 2025 is anticipated to stay fairly flat with some minimal development, with more of the exact same going into the first half of 2026,” the report states.
Calvin Yeo, head of occupant strategy and solutions at Knight Frank Singapore, notices that “selective upgrades to quality space have produced a two-tier market where newer, well-connected structures flourish and older supply encounters growing vacancy stress.”
Given the limited office space stock in the next couple of years, he anticipates high quality structures to continue to be nearly completely occupied as more firms make flight-to-quality moves from older buildings. On the other hand, older and poorly linked buildings will certainly face increasing pressures to be redeveloped or modernised.
