Condo and HDB rents up 1.3% in April, but volumes dip: SRX

Rents for condominium units and Housing Board flats both increased by 1.3 per cent in April from the previous month, although the number of leases dipped.

With this, condo rents have risen consecutively for four months and HDB rents for 10 months, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX released yesterday.

Condo rents were up 5.2 per cent from April last year, although they were still down 11.9 per cent from their peak in January 2013.

HDB rents, which were up 5.6 per cent from a year earlier, hit their highest since July 2016, although they were still 10 per cent down from their peak in August 2013.

Rents in non-mature estates rose by 2 per cent month on month, while those in mature estates edged up by 0.6 per cent. Rents also rose across all room types.

Rental volume for condo apartments dropped by 3.1 per cent in April to an estimated 5,100 units from 5,262 units the month before.

However, rental volumes were 51 per cent higher than in April last year, when Singapore was in its circuit breaker. Taking away most of the Covid-19 impact, the number of condo leasings was 13.5 per cent higher than the five-year average for the month of April.

HDB rental volume in April also saw a drop of 8.8 per cent to an estimated 1,847 flats from 2,026 flats in March.

Rental volumes were 33.9 per cent higher from a year earlier, although they were 6.1 per cent lower than the five-year average for the month of April.

Ms Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie's senior vice-president of research and analytics, said rents have been rising as demand for rental units appear to be outstripping supply.

"Housing vacancy is low and supply of newly completed homes is limited. Many locals have been renting units in recent months, including HDB upgraders who sold their flats to take advantage of the rapidly rising HDB resale prices," she added.

These HDB upgraders may then rent a unit while they look for a more long-term home, she said.

Although Covid-19 border restrictions are still largely in place, ERA Realty's head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said the arrival of some foreigners, such as students, professionals and their dependants, may have caused rental prices to climb.

Huttons Asia director of research Lee Sze Teck noted that employers in some industries like technology and manufacturing are hiring again, and this has helped to boost condo rental in April, which is usually a quiet month.

"Early economic indicators are pointing to a stronger than expected gross domestic product growth for this year," he said.