Singapore condo and HDB rents rise in March: SRX
Rents for non-landed private homes edge up 0.3% from February, while those for HDB flats inch up 0.2%
Thu, Apr 11, 2019
AS LEASINGS bounced back after the Chinese New Year (CNY) lull, rents for non-landed private homes edged up 0.3 per cent in March from February, while those for HDB flats inched up 0.2 per cent.
This is according to flash estimates from real estate portal SRX on Wednesday. Condominium and private apartment rents remained unchanged in February from January, while HDB rents dipped a revised 0.1 per cent, said SRX.
Year on year, rents for non-landed private properties increased by 1.5 per cent from March 2018. Compared to its January 2013 peak, rents were still down 17.7 per cent.
OrangeTee & Tie research and consultancy head Christine Sun said leasing activities picked up significantly for both the private and public housing sectors last month.
Rental transactions for condos jumped 41.4 per cent month on month in March, and HDB flats saw rental volume surge 58.3 per cent.
Ms Sun said the increase in rental volume could be attributed to a rise in transactions following a seasonal dip, as the CNY period in February is a traditional lull for most property transactions.
Nicholas Mak, the head of ZACD Group's research and consultancy department, similarly felt the significant rise in rental volumes could be seasonal as more tenants return from overseas during the CNY holiday period.
Looking at past data trends, Ms Sun said March was one of the busiest months for leasing activities, as it recorded the second or third-highest monthly leasing transactions of the year for 2016 to 2018.
She added that leasing activities usually pick up from March, which often marks the beginning of the most active leasing season that may last until the August-September period.
But year on year, rental volume in March 2019 was still 1.3 per cent lower than the 5,250 units rented in March 2018.
Ms Sun noted a recent pick-up in rental demand from expats working in the service and hospitality industries, and highlighted the upcoming expansion of Singapore's two integrated resorts - Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa - as potential catalysts for further rental demand from these sectors.
Giving his outlook for HDB and private residential rentals, Mr Mak said the rates are likely to vary within a narrow range in 2019 as the leasing market continues to stabilise.
"The leasing volume is also expected to remain within the current range as the government is unlikely to change the foreign labour policy significantly before the coming (general) election," he added.
Reply With Quote
