Bleak outlook for home rental sector remains despite strong demand in 1H

Leasing deals rose by 8.2% in 1H.

Demand for private residential leasing transactions is on the rise but it is unlikely to outstrip supply just yet, said Savills.

After an increase of 5.7% in the first quarter, private residential leasing transactions jumped 10.8% in Q2/2016, with 19,299 deals.For the first half of this year, the number of leasing transactions was up 8.2% on last year.

By market segments, the strongest QoQ growth was in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) with 13.3%, followed by the Outside Central Region (OCR) with 9.9%. Savills notes that in the Core Central Region (CCR), where much of the demand is linked to the expatriate community, leasing transactions went up 9.0% QoQ, to 5,655 deals.

Nonetheless, despite strong demand reported, Savills said that, in the face of falling rents, backfill space and new developments adding to the numbers, it remains a tenants’ market in Singapore.

Going by URA statistics, the cost of renting private homes in Q2/2016 registered overall declines of 0.4% QoQ and 3.3% YoY.

Across market segments, a two-tier rental market is perhaps underway – mid-market and suburban rents continued to slip further in Q2/2016, by 0.6% and 1.2% QoQ respectively.