Condo rents rose 2.4% in April

Rents in the CCR led the increase at 2.8%.

Condo rents edged up 2.4% YoY and 0.6% MoM in April, with the Core Central Region (CCR) recording the highest increase at 2.8%, data from SRX Property revealed.

Rents in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) rose 2.3% and 2% YoY, respectively.

According to Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, rents have been rising since October 2018, and have risen 3.8% from October 2018 to April.

“The increasing rental prices at CCR could be attributed to the limited supply of completed luxury homes and demolition of collective sales sites to make way for newer homes,” she explained.

As rents inched up, rental volumes decreased 3.6% YoY in April, with an estimated 4,970 units rented compared to the 5,157 rented in April 2018. On a MoM basis, volume dipped 5% from the 5,229 units rented in March 2019.

That said, Sun noted that rental demand is expected to remain robust as the second and third quarters usually see more expats signing or renewing contracts. Of late, she has observed an increased number of tenants from the IT, medical, finance and MICE industries, including those working in cruises, hotels, fintech companies, pharmaceutical firms and tech startups.

Meanwhile, HDB rents grew 0.3% YoY in April, although it was down 15.1% from the peak in August 2013. Rentals for mature estates increased 0.6%, whilst those for non-mature estates dipped 0.1% YoY.

HDB rental volumes also slipped 11.4% YoY, with an estimated 2,006 flats rented in April 2019 compared to the 2,264 recorded in 2018.

“The increasing supply of HDB flats reaching their five-year occupation period may place some downward pressure in HDB rents,” she added.