HDB rents inched up 0.6% in December 2018

Rental volume slipped 8.9% MoM to 1,601 flats rented in December.

Housing and Development Board (HDB) rents increased 0.6% MoM in December 2018, according to the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) Property.

HDB 3 rooms, HDB 4 rooms and HDB executive recorded rent increases of 0.5%, 0.2% and 4%, respectively. HDB 5 rooms rents slipped 0.2%.

Whilst rents in mature estate advanced 1% MoM, those in non-mature estates remained unchanged compared to November.

In terms of volume, HDB rentals slid 8.9% MoM with an estimated 1,601 HDB flats rented in December compared to the 1,757 units rented in November. In YoY terms, rental volume decreased 4.2% from the 1.671 units rented in 2017.

Orange Tee & Tie’s head of research and consultancy Christine Sun explained that the increase in HDB rents could be a blip given how the rental volume for December is low.

“Rents may experience increased downward pressure in the coming months as more flats are going to reach the 5-year minimum occupancy period to be eligible for renting out their whole unit,” she said in a statement. “Therefore, we may see more flats being put up for rental in areas like Punggol, Sengkang and Yishun this year.” 

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On the other hand, non-landed private residential rents slipped 0.2% MoM in December 2018, according to SRX Property.

YoY, rents in December increased 0.1%, with rents in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and the Outside Central Region (OCR) witnessing a 2.1% and 0.7% increase, respectively. Rents in the Core Central Region (CCR) however saw a 3.1% YoY decrease.

Meanwhile, non-landed private residential volume dropped 9.4% MoM with an estimated 3,450 units rented in December 2018, compared to the 3,810 units rented in November. YoY, rental volume was 8.5% lower than the 3.771 units rented in 2017.

“Rental volume has been on a general downtrend since August amidst fewer expatriate hiring due to the continued tightening of foreign worker policy and cuts in housing budgets,” Sun added. “The market may see some respite as the number of private homes being completed this year may be reduced.”