Renting a place in Singapore got a bit pricier in July, with both HDB and condo rents climbing. According to recent data from SRX and 99.co, condo rents nudged up by 0.9%, while HDB rents saw a 1.4% increase compared to June.
In terms of condo rentals, the market was particularly busy. Around 8,133 units were rented in July, a significant jump from the 6,020 units in June. This marks an 11.4% increase from last year and a 3.8% rise compared to the five-year average for July.
Breaking it down by region, 38.2% of the rentals came from the Outside Central Region (OCR), 33.4% from the Rest of Central Region (RCR), and 28.4% from the Core Central Region (CCR). Condo rents saw slight increases across all regions—1.4% in the RCR, 1.1% in the OCR, and a modest 0.1% in the CCR.
However, when we look at the year-over-year numbers, overall condo rents actually dipped by 5% since July 2023. Specifically, the CCR saw a 6.3% drop, and both the OCR and RCR experienced a 4.4% decrease.
Luqman Hakim, the chief data and analytics officer at 99.co, suggested that the post-holiday return of renters and a potential price floor for landlords might be factors keeping condo rentals “more affordable.” He also noted that we might see more condos available for rent later this year, which could lead to either a price drop or stabilization, especially with new changes in the Employment Pass criteria that could affect foreign workers.
On the HDB front, rental prices also went up in July, rising 1.4% from June. Mature estates saw a 1.5% increase, while non-mature estates were up by 1.2%. By room type, rents rose the most for three-room flats at 1.7%, followed by executive flats at 1.5%, five-room flats at 1.2%, and four-room flats at 1.1%.
Overall, HDB rents are up 4.7% compared to last year, with mature estates gaining 4.9% and non-mature estates up 4.4%. The biggest year-on-year jump was for three-room flats, with a 5.2% increase, while five-room flats followed closely at 5.1%. Executive flats saw a 4.7% rise, and four-room flats increased by 3.8%.
HDB rental volumes also picked up in July, with an estimated 2,993 flats rented out—a 13.8% increase from June. However, this is still 11.6% lower than last year and 5.3% below the five-year average for July. In terms of room types, four-room flats made up 36.9% of the rentals, followed by three-room flats at 32.8%, five-room flats at 24.6%, and executive flats at 5.7%.