More tenants will ‘break lease’ in the next year as the full impact of the global financial tsunami hits the Singapore shore.

Savills Singapore estimated that about 3.5% of existing Grade A office space, amounting to about 450,000 sq ft could be returned by tenants in the next 12 months as corporations in general consolidate their operations here.

In the pipeline, there will be almost nine million sq ft of new office space supply in and around the Central Business District over the next four years; and at least 80% of them will be of Grade A standard.

As the way things go, the downward pressure has already sliced 1.2% off the average Grade A asking monthly rent in Singapore in the third quarter (Q3) of 2008, when compared with the previous quarter. The average rents fell to $14.92 psf in Q3, from the height of $15.10 psf (psf) in Q2 2008.

However, due to their superior location, office space at Raffles Place, City Hall/Marina Bay, Beach Road/Middle Road, and Shenton Way actually became dearer by 2.2%. However, outside the prime Golden Shoe areas, average asking rents for offices fell by 3.3% in Tanjong Pagar; and by 0.91% in the Orchard area.

At the sales front, prices of average Grade A office slid 4.3% quarter-on-quarter to $2,680 psf in Q3. This is the first decline in sale prices of office space in three years.

In the meantime, there may also be more sub-letting activities, which is good news for real estate agents.

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Are you having a bad day? Has media coverage spoiled your trading plan? Perhaps you are just feeling a little off? When you encounter an unexpected setback, you can feel beaten down. You might be tempted to just stay knocked down, stuck, and unable to get back up. “I’ll never make enough winning trades to recoup my losses.” Ever have these thoughts, when you feel beaten? It’s natural, but you can’t stay down too long. You have to get back up and try again.

“Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.” You may have expected a trade to turn out profitable yet lost. Some may see the loss as a sign of personal inadequacy, but the winning trader takes the loss in stride. He or she asks, was there something to learn here? Sometimes there is and sometimes there isn’t. A good trading plan can often fail for no good reason. What winning traders don’t do, though, is mull over a setback too long. They make the best of it and move on. That can mean executing the same trading plan under more favorable market conditions or it could mean searching for a new trading opportunity. Whatever is done next, stagnation is not an option.

Merely getting yourself in a good mood may not guarantee that you will suddenly return to profitability, but it will increase the odds. There’s no way you are going to find profitable market opportunities if you are pessimistic. When you are optimistic, you’ll think more creatively and freely. And this optimal mindset will give you the mental edge you need to master the markets.

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Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.

Oscar Wilde

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To The Common People, Buying Shares Is Exactly The Same As Going Into A Casino To Gamble And The Only Difference Is That You Do Not get The Cocktail Service. But With The Help Of Charting, Latest Broadcasting News And Broker’s Advice & Recommendation, the Pro Investors Believes Otherwise.

Invest And Not Speculate In The Stock Markets And You Will Be Rewarded Handsomely In The Long Run.

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Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.

Albert Einstein

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Singapore has been rated by KPMG as one of the top four places in the world to invest in during these turbulent times. The Republic has been ranked behind mainland China, the United States and India in terms of its attractiveness to prospective investors.

The accounting giant KPMG surveyed 260 leading global companies across 12 economies between September and October 2008. The survey included responses from 20 multinational corporations based in Singapore, each with a turnover of US$1 billion (S$1.5 billion).

Singapore was hailed for its political stability, the impartial rule of law, a friendly tax regime as well as access to new customers.

This is the first survey by KPMG on the importance of tax and demographics in influencing corporate decisions on location. It also tracked investment intentions of firms over the next five years.

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What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?

Robert Schuller

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Winning traders face setback after setback. The markets are unpredictable, especially these days. When the media coverage or economic forecasts suggest the economy may turn around, the masses are encouraged and react. It can be difficult to trade under chaotic conditions, which characterize the markets these days. You have to make trade after trade, and many times, take loss after loss.

It is vital to remember, however, that what matters in the end is the big picture, the profits you make across a series of trades.

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As the Singapore economy poises itself for the full brunt of the global financial calamity, private home rents are set to ease correspondingly as more layoffs and capital flights ensue. Some experts are predicting that the drop could be as severe as over-20% in the next few months.

Negative events seem to have conspired against landlords in general. A weaker employment market, negative growths in exports, and fewer expatriate arrivals all add up to the sliding momentum of home rents.

Making matters worse is the impending completion of more condominiums in the prime districts. For example, another 681 units at the Sail @ Marina Bay, 172 units at St Regis Residences, and 110 units at Paterson Residence will be available for immediate occupancy from early next year onwards.

The rent fall may not have appeared to be very drastic in the recent months, however, as the full impact of the recession starts to kick in later on, the fall may exacerbate.

It is very common today to see real estate agents having advertised an apartment for lease for a few months without any results. The gap between the landlords’ asking rents and the expectation of prospective tenants is growing wider each day.

For example, a renovated 1,650 sq ft unit at Pinewood Gardens at Balmoral Park is now asking for $6,000 a month or $3.64 per sq ft, but prospective tenants are only willing to pay $5,000 per month.

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Merrill Lynch reportedly raised some US$2.65 billion in November 2008 for its Asian Real Estate Opportunity Fund, which is intended for direct acquisition of real estate assets and companies in Asia.

Likewise, it was also reported that Australian fund, AMP Capital Investors, was in the process of raising up to S$2.9 billion for direct property investments in Asia, including malls in Japan, and offices in Singapore.

According to Jonathan Thompson of KPMG, pension funds, hedge funds and private equity funds are showing keenness in Asian real estate due to the structural shortage of commercial properties in the growing economies, including Australia, Singapore and China.

Asia has become the prime target for these funds as the fundamentals for real estate there are better than in Europe or America in this tumultuous moment. With the prices of such properties expected to fall further, their investment values will be accentuated.

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