Stable retail property rents in 2Q2026, despite ongoing churn: Knight Frank Singapore
Rental resilience despite outlet churn signals support from visitor spending and overseas-brand openings, potentially keeping prime rents stable while weaker operators reassess locations.
Island-wide average gross rent for prime Singapore retail space rose 0.7% q-o-q to $29 psf per month in 2Q2026.
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Singapore retail property rents edged up slightly in 2Q2026, despite the ongoing churn in the retail landscape, said real estate consultancy Knight Frank in a July research report.
Based on Knight Frank Singapore's data, the island-wide average gross rent for prime retail space inched up 0.7% q-o-q to $29 psf per month (psf pm) in 2Q2026. This brings rental growth for the first six months of the year to 1.5%.
More retail outlet closures made headlines over the past months. Many of these occurred in the F&B space, with recent casualties including French restaurant Encore by Rhubarb at Duxton Hill, Cantonese eatery Wing Seong Fatty’s Restaurant on Bencoolen Street, and Old School Delights, a restaurant serving local fare at Esplanade Mall.
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On the flip side, new openings continued to emerge, particularly from overseas brands. Among these are Shanghai dumpling chain Yang’s Dumplings, which opened its first Singapore outlet at Bugis Junction last month and Japanese bakery-cafe Rituel Tokyo, which opened its first international outlet at Ngee Ann City.
Knight Frank highlights that retail property rents have been bolstered by Singapore’s “stable” visitor volumes, coupled with a rise in tourism spending in recent years. In 2025, the island’s tourism receipts reached a record high of $32.8 billion, with average per capita spending increasing 7.5% y-o-y to $1,937.
Across the different submarkets, the Marina Centre-City Hall-Bugis segment recorded the biggest growth in prime retail rents last quarter, increasing 1.5% q-o-q to $28.10 psf. The suburban segment saw the second-highest growth of 1.1%, followed by the city fringe (+0.6%).
Meanwhile, the Orchard submarket saw the smallest quarterly growth of 0.3%, with rents reaching $31.90 psf pm in 2Q2026.
“Although Orchard Road maintained its position as Singapore’s premier shopping belt and still commands the highest average gross rents across all precincts, rental growth moderated for the third consecutive quarter since 4Q2025,” adds Galven Tan, CEO of Knight Frank Singapore.
Nonetheless, the firm expects prime retail rents to remain steady in the second half of the year, backed by solid tourist arrivals and higher per capita spending. “The latest tranche of government household vouchers for essential goods could ease cost pressures, potentially lifting discretionary spending,” Tan adds.
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Knight Frank is projecting prime retail rents to grow between 2% and 4% for the whole of 2026.