Private condo rents dipped 0.7% in October

Rental volumes fell 1.7% to 4,207 rented units.

Private condominium rents slipped 0.7% MoM in October with rents in the core central region (CCR) leading the declines by 1.7%, SRX Property revealed.

Rents for private condos located in the rest of the central region (RCR) and outside the central region (OCR) also dipped by 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.

On a YoY basis, private condo rents dipped 0.1% and crashed 20% from its peak in January 2013. SRX Property also noted that RCR and OCR rents recorded a 0.3 and 0.8% YoY increase whilst those in the CCR saw a 1.9% YoY decrease in October.

Rental volumes for condos also dipped 1.7% MoM to 4,207 rented units from 4,280 rented units in September. The October volume saw a 0.5% decrease compared to the 4,229 units rented a year ago.

“Although the rental volume has declined for three months, the leasing market may find some respite in the coming months as hiring intentions in Singapore are generally positive across many sectors,” OrangeTee & Tie head of research & consultancy Christine Sun commented. “Many employers reported more positive forecasts for Q4 according to various employment outlook surveys.”

Sun also thinks that more expats may need to relocate to Singapore as some sectors expect a headcount crunch with growing competition amongst businesses vying for skilled workers as they undergo digital transformation.