Prime Office Rents Rise in 3Q2026 as AI Companies Expand Their Singapore Footprints

CBD Grade A office rents rose 1 per cent quarter on quarter in 3Q2026 to S$12.32 psf per month, based on data from JLL. That brings cumulative growth for the first three quarters of the year to 2.8 per cent. Overall CBD office vacancy fell to 5.9 per cent, the lowest in 10 quarters, JLL said in a 28 September release.

Knight Frank reported that rents of prime grade offices in the Raffles Place and Marina Bay area rose 1.5 per cent quarter on quarter to an average of S$11.87 psf per month in 3Q2026, while occupancy climbed 0.7 percentage points to 97.4 per cent over the same period.

“What stands out this quarter is how decisively AI and technology firms are moving to secure space, even as broader macroeconomic headwinds remain unresolved,” said Michael Glancy, JLL’s country chief executive for Singapore and South-east Asia.

Earlier this month, US data management firm Databricks announced plans to invest over US$350 million, about S$447 million, in its Singapore operations over three years and double its workforce to more than 500 employees. As part of the expansion, the company will open a new 32,000 sq ft regional headquarters at IOI Central Boulevard Towers, quadrupling its existing Singapore footprint. The new office is expected to open in November.

At the newly completed Shaw Tower along Beach Road, OpenAI is reportedly in advanced negotiations for approximately 120,000 sq ft of offices, according to JLL. The company currently occupies roughly 100 desks at a co-working space operated by The Work Project at CapitaSpring in Raffles Place.

Anthropic is set to open a Singapore office in October, and is said to have taken up around 100 desks at The Executive Centre’s workspace at Ocean Financial Centre in Collyer Quay.

In a separate report, Knight Frank Singapore noted that other AI companies which have secured dedicated office spaces or expanded their presence include French company Mistral AI, US enterprise platform Sierra, and Meta-backed Manus.

“In the months and year ahead, more AI-related firms are expected to either move from co-working facilities to establish their own office space or set up shop directly in a CBD market where quality space options are becoming uncomfortably limited,” said Tridiana Ong, head of occupier strategy and solutions at Knight Frank Singapore.

Supply of quality offices, particularly large contiguous spaces, remains constrained amid limited new completions. In response, occupiers of such spaces are initiating lease renewals earlier, with some starting negotiations up to two years ahead to secure their space, JLL noted.

With Newport Tower, the office component of City Developments’ Newport Plaza in Tanjong Pagar, the only major completion slated for 2027, near-term scarcity of Grade A office space will persist until new supply materialises in 2028, JLL said.

Some large occupiers are also exploring shifting from the CBD to the Orchard area, supported by the desire for a lifestyle-driven workplace to attract talent, Glancy observed. One company making the move is Deloitte, which plans to relocate to Orchard Central in 2027 after its current lease at OUE Downtown on Shenton Way ends this year. In the interim, Deloitte will relocate a portion of its staff to a JustCo co-working facility at Orchard Point.

Knight Frank highlighted that flexible workspace operators are also contributing to quality office demand. The firm estimates co-working spaces across Singapore currently total around 3.9 million sq ft, including JustCo’s newly opened Orchard Point centre, which spans 64,000 sq ft. JustCo is also expected to open a new 16,000 sq ft centre at Raffles City Tower in January 2027.

JLL has maintained its full-year forecast of 4 per cent for CBD Grade A rental growth, and projects cumulative five-year rental growth of 15 per cent between 2025 and 2030.

Knight Frank estimates full-year prime office rental growth will sit at the higher end of its 3 to 5 per cent estimate for 2026. The office market will remain supported by tight supply conditions in the last quarter of 2026 and going into 2027, said Ong.

As quality CBD offices continue to have rents at a premium with no sign of easing, companies will increasingly need to weigh the balance between prime spaces and more affordable options, such as older buildings or workspaces in fringe areas, over the next six to 12 months, she added.