Condo leasing volume dipped in August; demand for HDB rentals muted: SRX, 99.co
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Condo rents were up 0.3 per cent in August, climbing for a second straight month.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Crystal Heng
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SINGAPORE - The condominium rental volume dipped 14 per cent in August, a reversal from July’s upward trajectory, while prices continued to increase, rising 0.3 per cent.
An estimated 6,994 units were rented in August, compared with 8,136 in July, based on flash estimates released by SRX and 99.co on Sept 19.
The rental volume was 3.8 per cent higher year on year, but 7.6 per cent lower than the five-year average volume for August.
By region, 35.2 per cent of the total volume came from the outside central region (OCR), 34.5 per cent from the rest of central region (RCR), and 30.4 per cent from the core central region (CCR).
Condo rents were up 0.3 per cent in August, climbing for a second straight month. Prices increased 0.6 per cent in the OCR, 0.4 per cent in the RCR and 0.2 per cent in the CCR.
However, overall rents decreased 3.7 per cent year on year. By region, prices were down 4.5 per cent in the CCR, and 3.4 per cent in both the RCR and OCR.
Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee, said “rents may have bottomed out” but more data in the coming months is needed to confirm if the market is on a solid recovery path.
“There seems to be an increase in expatriates, international students and foreign workers entering Singapore lately, resulting in more rental inquiries,” she said.
Considering the tight housing supply in the current rental market, Ms Sun said, “the likelihood of rents dropping significantly is low”.
Ms Wong Shanting, head of research and market intelligence at ERA Singapore, said: “While the rental market has started to see some form of recovery, this might be short-lived, as an estimated 7,000 units are slated to be completed in the second half of 2024. This will inject fresh rental inventory in the coming months.”
Meanwhile, Housing Board rents were down in August, decreasing 0.4 per cent from the previous month.
Prices decreased 0.5 per cent in mature estates and 0.4 per cent in non-mature estates.
Breaking it down, rents were down 0.9 per cent for three-room flats, 0.1 per cent for five-room flats and 0.3 per cent for executive flats. Rents for four-room flats, however, held steady.
Overall rents gained 4.2 per cent on the year, with mature estates up 4.5 per cent and non-mature estates up 3.9 per cent.
The HDB rental volume also fell month on month in August, by 12.3 per cent, with an estimated 2,626 flats rented, compared with 2,993 units in July.
It was down 13.4 per cent on the year and 4.3 per cent lower than the five-year average volume for August.
By room type, 32.5 per cent of the total volume came from three-room flats, 39.3 per cent from four-room flats, 22.7 per cent from five-room flats, and 5.6 per cent from executive flats.
Mr Mark Yip, chief executive of Huttons Asia, observed that pockets of weaknesses are starting to emerge in the HDB rental market.
“Some tenants are progressively moving into their newly completed condos and are not renewing their HDB leases,” he said.
However, he also noted that the cut in interest rates could prompt some HDB owners to upgrade to a new condo and rent an HDB flat in the interim. This may provide some support to the HDB rental market, with rents increasing 2 per cent to 3 per cent in 2024. THE BUSINESS TIMES
