Compared to 4Q2025, the four firms place the q-o-q increase in average monthly rent at between 0.5% and 1.5%, with the latter figure from Colliers marking the strongest quarterly gain since 2Q2022.
Net take-up for these prime office spaces totals approximately 200,000 sq ft, according to CBRE, primarily in buildings that are well-located, offering premium specifications and boasting sustainability and wellness credentials. Buildings that recorded “significant intakes” in 1Q2026 include IOI Central Boulevard Towers, Marina One and Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 1.
Vacancies at all-time low across island
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Marina Bay’s vacancy rate fell to the lowest level in two years, according to JLL, from 7.2% in 4Q2025 to 6.0% in 1Q2026. This marks the lowest level since the 1.26 million sq ft IOI Central Boulevard Towers came onto the market in mid-2024.
Occupiers continued to gravitate towards newer Grade-A buildings in the CBD, as companies prioritised prestige, accessibility, talent attraction and retention together with cost considerations, says Tridiana Ong, head of occupier strategy and solutions at Knight Frank Singapore.
That said, “well-connected decentralised nodes” such as Buona Vista and the Alexandra corridor are “viable alternatives” for occupiers seeking more affordable space without compromising general islandwide connectivity, adds Ong.
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CBRE notes the reduction in vacancy beyond the CBD. Islandwide office vacancy declined to 5.1% in 1Q2026, with tightening recorded across the board, “including in the fringe CBD and decentralised locations”, according to CBRE.
Certain office properties outside the CBD began to come under “some nascent vacancy pressure” in 1Q2026, notes Knight Frank’s Ong, “as certain corporates in decentralised locations consider suitable opportunities that become available in prime central developments”.
Scarce supply
Looking ahead, large contiguous floor plates exceeding 20,000 sq ft are expected to remain scarce, especially in the core CBD, notes CBRE.
Shaw Towers stands as the only major office completion scheduled for 2026. Newport Tower, slated for 2027, is the only other CBD Grade-A completion on the horizon.
In between, the 15-storey Solitaire On Cecil is expected to come online with 216,484 sq ft of freehold strata office space. All units there were sold by end-July 2024, just 16 months after it was first launched for sale in March 2023.
“This critical scarcity of available options is driving occupiers to act with urgency. We have even begun to register pre-commitment activity for developments slated for completion all the way in 2029, underscoring this acute need by tenants to secure quality space for the medium term,” says David McKellar, CBRE’s head of office services and head of leasing, Singapore.
Limited new supply is likely to contribute to a continued space shortage and may sustain CBD office rent growth in the range of 4% to 5% for 2026, says Andrew Tangye, head of office leasing and advisory, JLL Singapore.
CBRE, meanwhile, forecasts rental growth of “about 5%” for core CBD Grade-A offices in 2026. “We are cautiously confident that while the volatile external environment may moderate growth, the strong demand and shortage of supply will likely outweigh the risks,” says Tricia Song, CBRE’s research head for Singapore and Southeast Asia.
‘Resilient’ investment pricing
On office transactions, the average core CBD premium and Grade-A capital values held at $3,100 psf, while net yields edged up to 3.66%.
Outside this segment, investment activity was “selective”, notes Colliers, with opportunistic buys made below prior peaks. It was reported in March that Allgreen Properties acquired 78 Shenton Way for between $600 million and $630 million, from its last transacted price of $700 million in 2018; there are no current redevelopment plans for the 99-year leasehold (56 years remaining) property.
Separately, Altallo Asset Management acquired 158 Cecil Street for $175 million in February, about 27% below the $240 million the seller had paid in 2015.
Colliers says 2026 office investment is “set to build on 2025’s momentum, with more buildings coming to market”. “From an asset management lens, well-positioned, high-specification products aligned to flight-to-quality and enterprise flex demand will have an advantage.”
In January, media reports emerged that Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional and Singapore’s Temasek could soon sell Marina One’s office and retail components at an asking price of between $5 billion and $6 billion. The rumoured transaction would put some 1.88 million sq ft of premium Grade-A office space on the market.
In February, a bourse filing by OUE REIT indicated that its subsidiary OUB Centre and United Overseas Bank (UOB) are gauging market interest for One Raffles Place, which is expected to be priced at between $2.3 billion and $2.4 billion.
OUB Centre holds an 81.54% interest in One Raffles Place, while UOB holds the remaining 18.46%. The two-tower commercial development contains nearly 1.3 million sq ft of gross floor area.
Office investment volumes are “primed for a record year” with supply constraints set to persist through 2027, says Sigrid Zialcita, CEO of the Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (Aprea). Trophy assets like One Raffles Place and Marina One are being offered in the market “at a time when fundamentals are still relatively strong”, she adds.
Commenting on the potential transactions, Aprea chairman John Lim says Singapore office valuations “have not dropped”. “[They are] still very strong.”
See also:
With twice as many listings as S’pore, C-REIT market will ‘grow very fast’: Aprea chair John Lim
Size matters: Aprea chairman John Lim on building globally competitive REITs
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