Rents for non-landed private homes rose last month at their strongest pace since January but they went in the other direction for Housing Board units, according to flash data out yesterday.
Overall condo rents rose 1.2 per cent from October to November, putting them 4.6 per cent up on November last year but still 16 per cent below their peak in January 2013.
Condo rents were up in all areas last month over the same month last year: the prime or core central region by 5.8 per cent; the city fringe or rest of central region by 3.7 per cent; and the suburbs or outside central region by 4.4 per cent.
The data from real estate portal SRX Property also showed that 3,980 non-landed private units were leased last month, down 7.6 per cent from October, and 3.1 per cent lower than a year earlier.
However, volumes are 7.5 per cent higher than the five-year average for the month of November.
Meanwhile, HDB rents dipped 0.1 per cent last month from October, though they are still up by 1.6 per cent on November last year. However, they are still off by 14.5 per cent from their peak in August 2013.
Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at ERA Realty, said a drop in private housing rental volume in November and December is expected.
"But the rise of the rental index points to the underlying robustness in the rental market," he said. "The 0.1 per cent drop in HDB rental index is a minor change and it could be due to the year-end lull period."
Rents could face upward pressure next year, he added, as the new supply of completed private units drops to 5,122, 70 per cent lower than the annual average supply of 17,055 units in the last five years.
Official data shows that the supply of completed private homes, including executive condominiums, will jump to 11,958 units in 2021, 15,106 in 2022 and 18,637 in 2023.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore noted last month a "stability in rental prices" that suggests that occupancy demand is adequate at this juncture to absorb newly completed units. But it warned the tepid economic outlook, coupled with an expected rise in the supply of such units in the medium term, could lead to new downward pressure on rentals.
There were 1,842 HDB flats rented out last month, almost unchanged from the 1,840 in October.
Four-roomers were again the most popular last month, making up 34.1 per cent of total rental volume, followed by three-room flats with 33.4 per cent. Five-room flats accounted for 26.5 per cent and executive flats, 6 per cent. HDB rental volumes are down 3.2 per cent from a year ago, and 2.1 per cent lower than the five-year average volume for the month.
