Singapore condo rents recover slightly in July; HDB rents stable: SRX

Number of units leased also up month-on-month for both condos and HDBs

Fri, Aug 16, 2019


RENTS of condominiums in Singapore inched up in July after two straight months of decline, while those of HDB flats held largely steady from June, according to monthly flash data from real estate portal SRX Property released on Thursday.

The number of units leased also saw a month-on-month increase for both condos and HDBs.

For non-landed private homes, overall rents last month improved 0.8 per cent from June, and were up 2.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Previously, condo rents had dipped 0.2 per cent month on month in both June and May.

By location, July's condo rents rose across the board, with the core central region (CCR) posting the largest rise of 1.1 per cent from June, followed by the suburbs or outside central region (OCR) with a 1 per cent growth and the city fringes or rest of central region (RCR) up 0.3 per cent.

Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, said: "Rents for non-landed private homes in the CCR increased the most compared to the other segments. This could be due to both supply and demand factors

"The current stock of completed luxury homes has decreased since some developments were demolished to make way for newer projects after the recent collective-sales cycle."

"There also seems to be more professionals and corporate executives entering the market lately who prefer to rent a luxury home in the prime districts," she added.

The current tenant mix for condos appears to be from Malaysia, Europe, Australia and East Asia including Taiwan, South Korea and China, based on OrangeTee's observation.

"Rental demand (for non-landed private homes) is expected to remain robust, as the third quarter usually sees more expats signing or renewing contracts before the year-end holidays," Ms Sun said.

Volumes of condos leased grew 13 per cent on a monthly basis, with 5,408 condo units rented in July as compared to 4,785 units in June.

Last month's volumes for condos were also 18.2 per cent higher than the five-year average for the month of July. It is also above the 12-month average of 4,782 units from July 2018 to July 2019, indicating that rental demand is "very healthy", said Ms Sun.

As for public housing, overall rents for HDB flats were unchanged in July, slipping marginally by 0.08 per cent from June.

Ms Sun expects overall HDB rents to continue to hold steady or fall slightly in the coming months, on the back of the increasing supply of HDB flats reaching their five-year minimum occupation period which will make them eligible for rent.

In terms of flat sizes, three-room and executive HDB flats saw rents rise by 1 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively in July from June. Four-room and five-room flats' rents fell 0.9 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.

In non-mature estates, HDB rents edged up by 0.4 per cent month on month, while those in mature estates dropped by 0.4 per cent.

Volumes of HDB units leased increased by 4.9 per cent month on month, with 1,962 rented in July versus 1,870 flats in June.

Year on year, HDB rental volumes fell 2.7 per cent. But last month's volumes for HDB flats were 6.1 per cent higher than the five-year average for the month of July.