The Singapore office market has extended its run of rental gains into 2Q2026 despite economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions. During the quarter, Core CBD Grade-A rents edged up 0.8% q-o-q to $12.50 psf per month, marking the sixth straight quarter of growth, according to CBRE Research.
Cumulatively, Singapore’s prime office rent advanced 1.6% in 1H2026, with upside potential going forward as macro conditions show potential for stabilisation. CBRE Research is maintaining its full-year forecast of approximately 5% y-o-y rental growth.
Landlords of Core CBD Grade-A buildings are operating with “significant” pricing power, says CBRE Research on June 25.
Tricia Song, CBRE head of research, Singapore and Southeast Asia, says the lack of new completions through 2027 means the “structural undersupply” underpinning this rental cycle is “not a short-term phenomenon”.
Cumulatively, Core CBD Grade-A vacancy has contracted from a high of 7.8% in 4Q2024, when IOI Central Boulevard Towers was delivered to the market, to 3.3% today — a compression of over four percentage points over just six quarters.
“The market’s continued performance reflects a structural imbalance between occupier demand and available supply,” adds Song.
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Core CBD Grade-A vacancy held firm at 3.3% in 2Q2026 — a record low, according to CBRE Research. The completion of Shaw Tower marks “the close of all meaningful new supply for 2026”, says Song.
Shaw Tower, the sole major office completion of 2026, received its temporary occupation permit in 2Q2026.
Its anchor and corporate tenants include global insurer Allianz, payments technology firm Adyen, pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis Singapore, and premium co-working operator Industrious, formerly known as The Great Room.
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Together with Keppel South Central, these two developments form a “compelling cluster” of quality options in the fringe CBD, says CBRE Research, offering occupiers “good alternatives” to constrained core CBD stock.
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.
According to CBRE Research, the “scarcity” of quality space is “increasingly shaping occupier behaviour”. Pre-commitment activity for developments scheduled for completion only as early as 2028 or 2029 has grown, adds the firm, with ongoing lease negotiations for these future buildings now forming a “meaningful part of the pipeline”.
Beyond the CBD
Within the CBD, AI companies of varying scales continued to transition from flexible co-working arrangements into traditional, self-managed office space, according to CBRE Research, “affirming their growing operational permanence in Singapore”.
Beyond the CBD, the Alexandra and Paya Lebar submarkets saw “active” take-up, with demand anchored by occupiers from the public, consumer goods, professional services and education sectors relocating to these decentralised areas, according to CBRE Research.
The withdrawal of HarbourFront Centre from the active stock further tightened supply at the islandwide level. Taken together, islandwide vacancy fell sharply from 5.6% in 1Q2026 to 3.6% in 2Q2026.
David McKellar, CBRE head of leasing, Singapore, highlights the “depth and diversity of demand”. “We are no longer seeing growth carried by one or two dominant sectors. Financial services — spanning banking, wealth management, insurance and asset management — remain active, but they are now joined by a meaningful cohort of AI businesses of all sizes, as well as professional services occupiers, among others, in decentralised locations.”
AI occupiers, in particular, have been “incubating” in Singapore for the past two to three years, predominantly within co-working environments, adds McKellar. “Their graduation into permanent, dedicated office space this year signals a maturation of this cohort — signalling their commitment to Singapore for the medium to long term, and with that comes a desire for operational certainty, brand presence and the ability to customise their space.”
Read more about Singapore's prime office space:
CBD Grade-A office rents rise for fifth straight quarter in 1Q2026
Scarcity and prestige: A market analysis of Singapore’s strata offices
When time is not enough: The quiet repricing of Singapore’s CBD offices
