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Prime office rents - which escalated last year - have slowed their upward trend. Like residential property, office rentals did appreciate in Q1, but more slowly than they did last year, property consultancy CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said.

Still, the outlook is not all bleak. Offices will still be able to command high rents due to strong demand and lack of supply, it added. Supply remains tight with occupancy rates at 97.6 percent in the CBD and 97 percent in decentralised areas.

Prime office rents were up 6.7 percent at an average of $16 psf per month, while Grade A office space climbed 8.7 percent to average $18.65 psf. Supply of the latter remained tight, with vacancies remaining below one percent, but rose slightly to 0.6 percent in Q1, up 0.4 percent from 0.2 percent in Q4 last year.

Further, rising rents, coupled with the current market uncertainty, have caused more companies to relocate out of the CBD. According to CBRE, pre-leasing activities are strong, especially in decentralised areas such as Tampines, Changi, Alexandra and HarbourFront.