Singapore, 28 Jun 2023 Condo rents dipped marginally by 0.6 per cent in May, following a short-lived 1 per cent increase in April.
But rents for Housing Board flats continued to climb for the 35th consecutive month, rising by 1.1 per cent in May, indicating resilient demand.
Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, said that demand may have contracted as a result of these mismatched expectations, leading to a longer time needed to close deals and encouraging some tenants to switch to the public housing sector for cheaper alternatives.
She added that the drop in condo rents was a sign that private rental growth has peaked and that rental prices were gradually stabilising.
Citing the flash figures, Ms Sun said that the marginal increase in condo rents in April was offset by the slight declines in March and May, highlighting that private rental growth has plateaued recently.
OrangeTee’s Ms Sun said that this is due to an increase in demand for HDB rental flats, as some tenants shifted over from the private rental market and offered higher rents to secure their units.
This, in turn, drives up HDB rental rates for larger units, such as five-room flats that have inched up by 1.6 per cent compared with April – well above the increase of 1.1 per cent across all flat types.