Are Singapore’s prime office buildings overpriced in offering 3 per cent yield?

LAST week, OCBC : O39 0% confirmed it is exploring redeveloping its Chulia Street and Church Street property in the Central Business District (CBD).

Perhaps, OCBC is encouraged to consider redevelopment, which will involve the bank’s headquarters building, because of the positive picture for prime office towers here.

Since Covid-related movement restrictions were lifted, many knowledge workers here are back to working largely out of the physical office.

Unlike office towers in many other cities, rentals and capital values of Singapore’s office buildings have been resilient.

For 2023, the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s office rental index climbed 13.1 per cent after expanding 11.7 per cent in 2022. 

Research by JLL showed that monthly gross effective rent for CBD Grade A office space rose 1.3 per cent quarter on quarter to around S$11.42 per square foot in Q1 – the highest since Q4 …