Despite a rather shaky start to Q3 with the property cooling curbs, the home rental market is holding steady. Private non-landed apartment rents have remained steady while HDB rents rose by 1%.
The Skywoods. Picture: iProperty
Rental market going strong despite cooling measures
Private properties continued to find ready tenancy as rental prices remained steady last month. Private home rental prices have remained level with an average of a negative or positive 1% fluctuation for the past year.
Rental volume has also increased by 4.7% in July with 4,896 units tenanted. This is the 5th consecutive month rental volume has stayed above the 12-month average.
Across the board, private rents do tend to increase in Q3 from 2012 to 2017, though the past year’s heightened en bloc activity may have a large part to play in this year’s numbers.
As the number of new private homes entering slow in the months ahead, the rental market may pick up the slack.
The large number of collective sales closed in the past year and also this year may mean a sudden decrease in the number of newly completed homes in the market. These new developments will take the next few years to complete, making home occupancy slightly more challenging for these ‘displaced homeowners’.
Related: Rental market’s ups and downs
HDB rental market volatile but has performed well last month
While some homeowners may pick up resale private apartments or HDB flats quickly, others may find it more worthwhile to wait it out. These displaced collective sale owners may look to the rental market for living options.
While the HDB rental market has been a little volatile to date, activity seems to be picking up as rents rose as well. This could be a positive sign following a 0.7% fall in June. 3- and 4-room flats saw the most gain in rents with 1.6% and 1.5% rise respectively.
Kim Tian Road, Tiong Bahru. Picture: iProperty
Rental prices of larger 5-room and executive flat rental prices, however, dipped 0.3% and 1% respectively. More HDB flats were also tenanted in July with an 11.9% rise in rental volume following 3 consecutive months of falling rental numbers.
The rental market could be seeing more activity in the months ahead as the market realigns itself after July’s implementation of new property cooling measures.
