Condo rents dip 0.3% in March after 26-month climb, HDB rents up 0.7%
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Only the rents of condo units in central Singapore recorded a 0.1 per cent increase in March.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE - Rents for condominium units dipped for the first time in March, after climbing for 26 consecutive months, a sign that tenants are continuing to resist rent increases.
Condo rents decreased marginally by 0.3 per cent in March, following a 3.5 per cent increase in February,
OrangeTee & Tie’s senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun said the marginal overall rent decline in March could be due to the growing disparity in expectations, as tenants resist rent increases while landlords raise rents to cope with rising inflation and higher mortgage payments.
Rents in the city fringes went down by 0.4 per cent while those in the suburbs dipped by 0.2 per cent. Only the rents of condo units in central Singapore recorded a 0.1 per cent increase.
Meanwhile, flash data showed that rents for Housing Board flats continued to edge up in March – by 0.7 per cent – marking the 33rd straight month of growth.
Overall HDB rents increased by 26.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip said this could be a result of tenants who were pushed out of the private market and subsequently turned to the HDB rental market for more affordable alternatives.
“More tenants in the private market are speaking with their feet by moving to the HDB market when the landlords are very insistent on their demands,” he said.
Mr Luqman Hakim, chief data and analytics officer at 99.co, noted that rents for three-room HDB flats increased the most by 2.1 per cent, compared with other flat types.
“This is another sign that many potential condo tenants may have shifted to smaller-room HDB flats due to rising costs,” he said.
While HDB rents are still climbing, Mr Luqman said the increases since January 2023 have been gradually slowing down compared with the previous months.
More HDB flats were rented out in March. Volumes rebounded by 14.8 per cent as an estimated 3,007 units were rented, compared with 2,619 units in February.
In contrast, fewer condo units were rented in March. Volumes decreased by 4 per cent as an estimated 4,914 units were rented, compared with 5,119 units in February.
On Wednesday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said residential rent increases should ease in the coming quarters as more homes are completed and rental demand moderates.
A study of Singapore’s rental market, conducted by the Ministry of National Development, was published in MAS’ biannual macroeconomic review.
Close to 100,000 private and public homes are expected to be completed between 2023 and 2025, a factor that could turn the tide in the rental market boom.
ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim said more than 20 condo developments are expected to receive their temporary occupation permits in 2023, and the injection of supply will give some respite to the red-hot condo rental market.
