Prices and rents of industrial space dipped in the first quarter and occupancy remained flat but the data does not capture the full impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, JTC Corp said yesterday.

The industrial land and infrastructure agency noted that the pandemic will put downward pressure on prices and rentals in the coming quarters and possibly delay project completion.

The price index declined 0.4 per cent from the last three months of 2019 to the first quarter of this year while the rental index dipped 0.1 per cent. The occupancy rate for industrial space held steady at 89.2 per cent.

The price index was down 0.7 per cent on the same quarter last year, while rents were flat and occupancy dipped 0.1 percentage point.

JTC said: "The (first quarter) statistics reflected market conditions from January to March, before the circuit breaker measures kicked in on April 7.

"Further, many of these transactions could have been pre-committed pre-Covid. This is in line with historical trends of past economic events such as the global financial crisis in 2008, where the impact on industrial prices and rentals only started to show in the following quarter."

Construction has been halted until June 1. About 2.1 million square metres (sq m) of industrial space were originally slated for completion by the end of the year but this will likely be delayed, JTC said.

It also noted that caveats lodged for industrial properties suggest transaction volumes in the first quarter fell 38 per cent from a year earlier.

THE BUSINESS TIMES