SINGAPORE - Rents for non-landed private residential properties remained relatively flat, inching up by 0.1 per cent in December over November, according to the latest monthly rental indices by SRX Property.

Released on Wednesday (Jan 13), they also show that HDB rents slipped 0.6 per cent in December month-on-month. Rents for three-room flats dipped by 0.6 per cent, while declining by 0.8 per cent for four-room and five-room flats. Rents for executive room flats held their ground last month.

The December figures mean that private rents have fallen 5.4 per cent in 2015. They are 15 per cent off their last peak in January 2013. As for HDB rents, they declined by 4 per cent last year and are down 8.6 per cent compared to their peak in August 2013.

In terms of number of rental activity, SRX Property estimates that 3,093 private apartments were leased in December, a 7 per cent decrease from the 3,325 units rented out in November. But year-on-year, rental volume in December was 6.4 per cent higher than the 2,908 units rented in December 2014.

HDB rental volume continued to strengthen. According to SRX Property, an estimated 1,817 HDB flats were rented in December, up 1.5 per cent from the 1,790 units rented in November. Year-on-year, rental volume in December increased by 8 per cent from a year-ago.