HOUSING Board (HDB) rents have hit a new high in March, while condominium rents rose for the 15th straight month.

Although rental volumes improved on a monthly basis, they are still lower compared with the year-ago period, according to flash figures from SRX Property and 99.co on Wednesday (Apr 13).

ERA Realty Network head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said the continuing rise in rental rates and lower volume point to the delays in the completion of residential properties due to the supply chain disruption in the construction industry.

“This led to lower new supply of newly completed homes which increased the rental rates,” he added.

HDB rents were up for the 21st consecutive month, rising 1.4 per cent month on month and 13.5 per cent year on year. They now surpass the previous peak recorded in August 2013 by 1 per cent.

Mature estate rents climbed 1.7 per cent, while non-mature estate rents rose by 1.1 per cent. Year on year, mature estate and non-mature estate rents were up 12.2 per cent and 14.8 per cent, respectively.

All room types posted rent increases, with 3-room, 4-room, 5-room and executive flat rents advancing by 2.4 per cent, 1.3 per cent, 0.1 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.

On a yearly basis, 3-room flat rents were up 12.4 per cent, 4-room flats increased by 14.1 per cent, 5-room flats saw gains of 13.7 per cent, while executive flat rents increased by 10 per cent.

Meanwhile, condo rents saw an increase of 2.9 per cent on the month and 14 per cent year on year. However, rents were 0.8 per cent lower than the peak recorded in January 2013.

Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie noted: “As rental demand is expected to rise in the coming months, we anticipate that rents will likely hit a new high within the next few months.”

By region, the outside of central region (OCR) saw the highest monthly gain at 3.6 per cent, followed by the core central region (CCR) at 2.7 per cent and the rest of central region (RCR) at 2 per cent. Year on year, the OCR, RCR and CCR rose 15.5 per cent, 13.7 per cent and 12.3 per cent, respectively.

As for rental volumes, the number of condos rented continued to climb upwards, rising 21.2 per cent in March to 4,683 units, compared with the 3,863 units rented in February.

That being said, condo rental volumes were 17.4 per cent lower than the year-ago period and 12.4 per cent lower than the 5-year average volume for the month of March.

About 39.1 per cent of total condo rental volumes in March were from the OCR, followed by 32.9 per cent from the RCR and 28 per cent from the CCR.

After dropping in February, HDB rental volumes bounced back in March, advancing 31.3 per cent to around 1,767 HDB flats rented, compared with the 1,346 units recorded the month before.

Year on year, HDB rental volumes were down 17.2 per cent and 21.4 per cent lower than the 5-year average volume for the month of March.

About 37.5 per cent of total volumes were from 3-room flats, followed by 34.4 per cent from 4-room flats, 22.6 per cent from 5-room flats and 5.5 per cent from executive flats.

Looking ahead, the reopening of the Singapore-Malaysia land border could result in some Malaysian workers cancelling their leases in Singapore, so they could return to their previous arrangement of living in Johor Bahru and commuting daily to Singapore, the property analysts noted.

As a result, rental transaction volume, especially in northern areas like Woodlands and Sembawang, could decline in coming months, said ERA’s Mak.

“However, the decline will last only for a short term before new tenants arrive in Singapore and the leasing market reaches a new equilibrium,” he added.

Foreign students returning to Singapore to study could also boost demand for rental properties, noted Huttons chief executive Mark Yip. Companies will also bring in more professionals to work in Singapore, further supporting the rental market.

Credit: Business Times