The sharp fall in rental volumes could signal the start of a "domino effect" for the rental market

HDB rental volumes tumble again in August

SINGAPORE – Rents for Housing Board apartments and private houses held consistent in August yet leasing took another big hit, with rental quantities being up to multi-year lows and also below circuit-breaker degrees, passing flash information from realty portal SRX Property on Wednesday (Sept 9).

August leasings for personal condominiums as well as homes toppled 20.4 per cent month on month to 2,716 devices. This is 47 per cent lower than a year back and 42 per cent less than the five-year typical volume for the month of August.

The rental volume for HDB flats in August also dropped, by 16.7 percent from July to 1,025 flats. This is 46.2 percent less than a year back as well as 44.1 per cent below the five-year ordinary quantity for that month.

For condo rentals, the approximated August quantities would certainly be the most affordable considering that February 2014, while those for HDB flats would be the most affordable given that December 2010, SRX told The Straits Times.

The sharp fall in rental quantities, which was additionally seen in July, could signify the start of a “domino effect” for the rental market, which has been hindered by a financial stagnation and also climbing unemployment among foreigners in Singapore, said Ms Christine Sunlight, head of research study and also consultancy at OrangeTee & Connection.

Pointing to the work support schemes planned to assist companies keep their Singaporean employees, Ms Sun included that it is “inevitable” that the decrease in international employment will adversely influence the leasing market momentarily.

PERIOD Real estate head of study as well as working as a consultant Nicholas Mak agreed, and said that dampened demand in both the HDB as well as private housing market might be because of weakness in the broader work market, which has actually seen job losses for some expatriates.

This bigger decrease has not been offset by the increase in rental need for HDB flats from Malaysian employees trying to find inexpensive accommodation near their work environments complying with the execution of border limitations in between Malaysia and also Singapore due to Covid-19.

SRX flash information likewise revealed that private home rents continued to be unchanged in August from the previous month, while HDB leas saw a little uptick of 0.3 per cent within the exact same duration.

Year on year, overall rental fees for personal apartments in August were down by 1 percent from a year back and also 17.3 per cent off their peak in January 2013.

For HDB flats, rents slipped by 0.1 percent from August last year and also were 14.6 percent less than their top in August 2013.

Although the SRX rental index held steady for the personal household market in August, Ms Sunlight kept in mind that leas have been succumbing to 6 consecutive months for high-end homes in the prime districts or core main area. Leas have also slipped partially in the suburbs or outside of central area.

“The fads may indicate that more deportees are moving out from prime areas to suburban areas or city fringe areas, where housing tends to be more cost effective in the light of the current financial downturn,” she stated.

Rental vacancies may raise in the coming months, potentially exerting some downward pressure on rental fees for certain areas, she claimed.

When it comes to HDB rents, claimed Mr Mak, the 0.3 percent month-on-month rise comes as a significant variety of fairly brand-new HDB flats finished the five-year minimum line of work duration this year and could be readily available for lease.

These newer flats would command higher services compared with the older apartments around One Meyer and Parc Central Residence EC.

As more of such newer flats go into the leasing market, they might support or perhaps enhance the overall HDB rental index, he included.