Singapore third-most expensive market for flexible office space

Singapore is the third most expensive market for flexible offices in the world, coming behind two cities in the United States - New York and San Francisco.

New York tops the ranking with private office desk spaces costing an average of US$961 (S$1,307) a month. San Francisco is in second place at US$950.

The average cost of private office desk space in Singapore is US$834 a month, according to a survey released on Monday by Workthere, a flexible office leasing agency under property consultancy Savills.

Mr Ashley Swan, executive director of commercial leasing at Savills Singapore, said the agency has seen strong recovery in Singapore's flexible office market in the past few months as more people are returning to the workplace.

The increasing popularity of Singapore as a place for start-ups to set up offices has also contributed to that growth.

"As we wait for new centres to open progressively over the next few years, the market remains relatively tight with vacant seats being snapped up quickly. Delays in construction mean that this trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future," he added.

The other Asian city ranked is Hong Kong. Once the world's most expensive office market, it has now dropped to the seventh place, with private office desk space costing an average of US$793 a month.

Savills had reported in January that office supply in Hong Kong had outstripped demand in the city, causing rents to fall and concessions to rise in order to attract tenants.

London is ranked in fourth place just after Singapore at US$803 per desk, followed by Berlin at US$800. These two are the most expensive European cities for flexible office spaces.

THE BUSINESS TIMES