SG Biz Space

27/09/2026

A simple commercial property investor checklist

1. What is the exact approved use?
2. What businesses could realistically
rent this unit?
3. Who is the current tenant?
4. What is the actual passing rent?
5. When does the lease expire?
6. What is the realistic market rent
today?
7. What is my NET yield after
expenses?
8. What happens if the property is
vacant for 6–12 months?
9. How much will renovation or
Reinstatement cost?
10. Who is likely to buy this property
from me when I eventually sell?

26/09/2026

DON'T buy purely because "shophouses always appreciate"

Capital appreciation is not guaranteed.
A beautiful conserved shophouse in a weak micro-location can still have difficulty finding tenants.

DON'T chase the highest rental yield
A property showing an unusually high yield deserves investigation.
Ask:Why is the yield so high?

Possibilities include:
Difficult tenant profile
Short remaining lease
Weak location
Unusual use
High vacancy risk
Below-market purchase price for a reason
Rental that may not be sustainable

DON'T assume F&B is automatically the best tenant
F&B can bring strong activity but may also involve:

Exhaust requirements:
Grease traps
Power requirements
Water requirements
Fire-safety requirements
Noise/odour considerations
Renovation costs
Licensing requirements
And planning approval is still important.

DON'T underestimate conservation restrictions

If you're buying a conserved shophouse, renovation isn't the same as renovating an ordinary commercial unit.
URA states that conservation permission may be required, and conserved buildings are subject to restoration and conservation guidelines

DON'T assume the upper floors have the same commercial potential

This is particularly important.
For some shophouse configurations, commercial use can be restricted to the 1st storey, while upper-storey changes of use may require separate assessment.

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
So don't value a 3- or 4-storey property simply based on the assumption that every floor can generate commercial rent.

25/09/2026

#1 — Check the approved use BEFORE buying
This is one of the biggest beginner mistakes.
"What can this exact unit legally be used for?"
"What business is currently operating here?"
A change of use can require URA planning permission, and some uses have additional requirements.

#2 — Study the existing tenant
How long has the tenant been there?
What rent are they paying?
When does the lease expire?
Have they renewed before?
Is the tenant's business compatible with the location?
Is the rent sustainable for that business?
A good tenant history can tell you more than simply looking at the asking price.

#3 — Calculate your investment using NET numbers
Don't stop at:
Purchase price ÷ annual rent = gross yield
Also consider:
Property tax
Maintenance
MCST/service charges where applicable
Insurance
Repairs
Vacancy
Leasing commission
Legal costs
Financing costs
Renovation/tenant incentives
Stamp duties
Exit costs
Then calculate:
Net rental income ÷ total capital invested
That's much closer to the return you're actually receiving.

#4 — Visit the property at different times
Monday morning → weekday lunch → weekday evening → Saturday → Sunday
You may discover that a location that looks busy at 7pm is almost empty during the day.
For F&B, lunch and dinner patterns matter.
For services, offices and lifestyle businesses, weekday versus weekend traffic can be very different.

#5 — Check the surrounding tenant mix
Don't just count the number of shops.
Look at who occupies them.
For example:
F&B + gym + beauty + enrichment + medical + offices + residential
can create a different ecosystem from:
multiple similar restaurants competing for the same customers.

22/09/2026

For shophouses, tenant demand tends to be strongest where there is a combination of:

🚇 MRT accessibility
👣 Consistent pedestrian traffic
🏢 Nearby offices / employment nodes
🏠 Dense residential catchment
🍜 Established F&B / lifestyle ecosystem
🏨 Hotels and tourism
🅿️ Reasonable accessibility and parking/loading
👀 Good frontage and visibility

Examples of established shophouse precincts include Tanjong Pagar, Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Little India, Boat Quay, Joo Chiat, Jalan Besar, Tiong Bahru and River Valley. URA identifies these among Singapore's conservation areas, although tenant demand and suitability can vary significantly from one street to another.

Don't treat a famous neighbourhood as automatically being a good investment. A secondary street 300m away from the action can behave very differently from a prime frontage.

Lets meet up to do a pre-acquistion checklist.
DM me for an appointment at your convenient time

22/09/2026

For shophouses, tenant demand tends to be strongest where there is a combination of:

🚇 MRT accessibility
👣 Consistent pedestrian traffic
🏢 Nearby offices / employment nodes
🏠 Dense residential catchment
🍜 Established F&B / lifestyle ecosystem
🏨 Hotels and tourism
🅿️ Reasonable accessibility and parking/loading
👀 Good frontage and visibility

Examples of established shophouse precincts include Tanjong Pagar, Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Little India, Boat Quay, Joo Chiat, Jalan Besar, Tiong Bahru and River Valley. URA identifies these among Singapore's conservation areas, although tenant demand and suitability can vary significantly from one street to another.

Don't treat a famous neighbourhood as automatically being a good investment. A secondary street 300m away from the action can behave very differently from a prime frontage.

Lets meet up to do a pre-acquisition checklist.
DM me for an appointment at your convenient time

21/09/2026

Logistics sector players, from asset owners to operators, are increasingly packing industrial facilities with smart specifications to keep pace with demand for warehouses that do more than just store goods. The Singapore projects announced in 2026 point to more than S$500 million invested in three major high-spec, highly automated logistics developments.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/not-just-warehouse-industrial-players-pump-hundreds-millions-high-spec-automated-logistics-assets

21/09/2026

SC Capital Partners sells Rivervale Mall in Sengkang for around S$276 million

Suchad Chiaranussati’s SC Capital Partners has inked a deal to sell Rivervale Mall, a suburban retail mall in Sengkang which it acquired seven years ago, for about S$276 million, The Business Times has learnt.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/sc-capital-partners-sells-rivervale-mall-sengkang-around-s276-million

https://www.zaobao.com.sg/finance/singapore/story20260918-9697785

Buyer is linked to Master Contract Services, which recently bought Orchid Hotel Read more at The Business Times.

18/09/2026

Boat Quay rule easing draws raft of hotel conversion plans for conservation shophouses

A flurry of hotel conversion proposals have turned up for shophouses located near the Singapore River, with at least seven applications to turn the historic conservation properties into hotels after an easing of planning rules in June. Most recently, owners of shophouses zoned for commercial use on two lots on South Bridge Road and North Canal Road submitted development proposals to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for rezoning to hotel use.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/boat-quay-rule-easing-draws-raft-hotel-conversion-plans-conservation-shophouses

18/09/2026

Omnicom said to have leased nearly 50,000 sq ft of office space on 51 Merchant Road

Global advertising, marketing and sales giant Omnicom is said to have leased close to 50,000 sq ft of net lettable area of office space at 51 Merchant Road – about three-quarters of the entire building – near Clarke Quay MRT station.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/omnicom-said-have-leased-nearly-50000-sq-ft-office-space-51-merchant-road

10/09/2026

Royal Holdings and RB Capital are jointly buying Scotts Square for S$310 million. The duo have inked a sale-and-purchase agreement for all the shares in Wharf Estates Singapore, which owns the four-level freehold retail mall in a prime Scotts Road location, just off Orchard Road.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/royal-holdings-rb-capital-buy-scotts-square-s310-million

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/hk-tycoon-backed-wharf-exits-singapore-with-310m-sale-of-scotts-square

https://www.zaobao.com.sg/finance/singapore/story20260909-9652683

The price works out to S$2,369 psf on a gross floor area of 130,875 sq ft Read more at The Business Times.