Latest news with #Siglap
CNA
29-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Deep Dive Podcast: Have rising commercial rents reached a tipping point?
Amid rising rents and growing competition, some Singapore businesses are closing down or relocating to cheaper premises. A local bakery in Siglap recently announced on social media it was moving out after its rent was increased by 57 per cent. Are commercial rent hikes spiralling out of control, or is this simply market forces at work? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak to Ethan Hsu, head of retail at Knight Frank Singapore, and Terence Yow, managing director of Enviably Me Group of Companies and chairperson of the SG Tenants United for Fairness. Here is an excerpt of the conversation: Steven Chia, host: Is there such a thing as a fair price? Terence Yow, chairperson of Singapore Tenants United for Fairness (SGTUFF): For those of us who have been in this business for 15 to 20 years, the benchmark for the rent occupancy to price ratio is about 15 per cent. That means if your shop (makes) $10,000 a month, a good healthy rent would be 15 per cent of that, which is $1,500. Today, we are seeing rent ratios (ranging) from a healthy range of 20 per cent to an unhealthy range of about 50 per cent or more. Based on our observations, particularly among fellow small business owners, the occupancy cost has dramatically increased. Steven: Is there a list that tells us who's paying what and how much they're paying? Terence: No. There isn't data on this. Otelli Edwards, host: Do you think that the data should be transparent? Terence: That is something I've been advocating for a while. Again, I refer back to what we have done for residential units. Today, there is full data transparency (for residential units). You can almost identify which floor of which condo was the last transacted price. And I would argue that such transparency measures have helped the market. It has helped both developers and buyers. I would strongly advocate for something similar in our sector of the market, although there are quite a few technical difficulties, since these are rentals, not purchases. Ethan Hsu, head of retail at Knight Frank Singapore: (But) these are leases and not sales. If it's a sale, then you can caveat because you have an interest in the property that you have purchased. But once it's a lease, especially if it's a private lease held by a private landlord, it can be (considered) a trade secret. That's because that's how (landlords) price their shops in order to be competitive with the other units.
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CNA
29-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Deep Dive - Have rising commercial rents reached a tipping point?
Play Amid rising rents and growing competition, some Singapore businesses are closing down or relocating to cheaper premises. A local bakery in Siglap recently announced on social media it was moving out after its rent was increased by 57 per cent. Are commercial rent hikes spiralling out of control, or is this simply market forces at work? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak to Ethan Hsu, head of retail at Knight Frank Singapore, and Terence Yow, managing director of Enviably Me Group of Companies and chairperson of the SG Tenants United for Fairness. Deep Dive - Have rising commercial rents reached a tipping point? Amid rising rents and growing competition, some Singapore businesses are closing down or relocating to cheaper premises. A local bakery in Siglap recently announced on social media it was moving out after its rent was increased by 57 per cent. Are commercial rent hikes spiralling out of control, or is this simply market forces at work? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak to Ethan Hsu, head of retail at Knight Frank Singapore, and Terence Yow, managing director of Enviably Me Group of Companies and chairperson of the SG Tenants United for Fairness. 25 mins Deep Dive - Cabinet reshuffle: No big surprises but key moves to align the ministries under PM Wong's 4G team Prime Minister Lawrence Wong unveiled his Cabinet and one surprise was the lack of a second deputy prime minister. Instead, the new Cabinet includes three coordinating ministers. What does that signal? And will there be more changes to come? Steven Chia speaks to independent political observer Dr Felix Tan and Dr Elvin Ong of the National University of Singapore. 20 mins Deep Dive - GE2025: Are independent candidates a new force to be reckoned with? For the first time in 53 years, an independent candidate received more than 35 per cent of vote share, performing better than some smaller opposition parties. Jeremy Tan, who ran in Mountbatten SMC, and Darryl Lo who contested in Radin Mas SMC, join Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards to talk about lessons learnt from their campaigning and their future after GE2025. 21 mins Deep Dive - GE2025 results: A closer look at the strong PAP mandate and the opposition strategy Voters gave the People's Action Party and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong a clear mandate in GE2025. What accounted for the result and why couldn't the opposition parties make good on gains from the last election? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak to Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University and Dr Reuben Ng from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. 23 mins
