SINGAPORE: The rental volume for Housing Board (HDB) flats and condos rebounded in March after declining for several months, while rents continued to rise.
Industry observers attribute this to the easing of safe management measures which facilitated viewings and the return of foreign workers and expatriates after Singapore reopened its borders.
The condo rental volume climbed by 21.2% to an estimated 4,683 units last month, compared with 3,863 in February, according to flash figures from real estate portals 99.co and SRX released yesterday.
More HDB flats were leased last month, up by 31.3% to an estimated 1,767 units, compared with 1,346 the month before.
Condo rents rose at a quicker pace of 2.9 % compared with February’s 1.4%, and HDB rents rose by 1.4% compared to 1.7% the month before.
This marks the 15th straight month of growth for condo rents and the 21st for HDB rents.
Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at real estate firm OrangeTee & Tie, said: “In recent weeks, we noticed an increase in inquiries and units leased to Malaysian workers after border restrictions were eased.”
Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip said short-term incremental demand from tenants, who extended their leases due to delays in completion of their new homes, boosted rental volume for condos in March.
More Hong Kong expatriates are taking short-term leases in Singapore to sidestep strict Covid-19 restrictions there, he added.
“As rents for short term stay tend to be higher than the typical lease term, this pushed rents up by 2.9%, much higher than the increase in previous months,” he said.
The rental growth for condos was observed across the board – in central Singapore, city fringes and the suburbs. The suburbs accounted for 39.1% of the total volume.
Year on year, condo rents are up 14% from March last year.
But Sun said some Malaysians residing in Singapore may not renew their rental leases since those who are fully vaccinated can travel freely between the two countries by land without testing or quarantine.
ERA Singapore head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said the rental volume, especially in northern Singapore such as Woodlands and Sembawang, could decline in the next few months.
He expects this to last for a short term before new tenants arrive.
Rents for HDB flats rose across all flat types in both mature and non-mature estates. Compared with March last year, HDB rents are 13.5% higher.
The lower supply of newly completed homes contributed to increased rental rates, said Mak. — The Straits Times/ANN