Private condo rental volume jumped by 4.7% in July

Prices were flat, as June was a lull for market activities.

The rental volume of private condominiums in July 2018 jumped by 4.7% to 4,896 units form 4,678 units rented in June. Compared to last year, rental volume was 2.4% lower than 5,016 units.

According to SRX Property, private rents were flat for the month. Rents in Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) grew by 0.4% and 0.1% respectively, whilst those in Core Central Region (CCR) dipped by 0.5%.

Compared to last year, the change in rents was also marginal at 0.4%. In individual sectors, OCR posted a 0.2% increase, whilst CCR and RCR posted a 1.6% and 0.2% decrease respectively.

OrangeTee & Tie head of research and consultancy Christine Sun noted that the fall in rental volume could be seasonal. “The June holidays are usually a lull period for property market activities. There could also be some limited impact from the World Cup Fever,” she said.

Sun added that the latest policy change will likely not have a direct, major impact on the non-landed private rental market. “However, some displaced en bloc owners may turn to the rental market for temporary housing since the replacement cost of buying a new home is now higher under the new cooling measures, especially for those who own more than one property, the extra Additional Buyers’ Stamp Duty (ABSD) incurred will decrease their profits from the sales proceeds of their en bloc homes,” she said.