According to Alan Cheong, executive director of research and consultancy at Savills Singapore, landlords and tenants can expect most of the rental increases this year to occur in the first six months, before generally moderating in the second half of the year.

A year on from market watcher predictions of an increase in rental prices, the rental market in Singapore seems to have swung in favour of landlords in recent quarters, prompting the ire of many tenants — locals and foreigners alike. This has been met with outcries on social media from those who have faced a near-doubling of rents in certain areas, as well as difficulties in securing affordable apartments, particularly in the Core Central Region (CCR).

JCube in Singapore’s Jurong East region set to close in August to make way for 40-storey JCube Condo Residence with commercial space, JCube Residence estimated at S$2,000-2,100 psf. Development to connect to amenities, potentially alleviating housing demand in the area.

The Real As State video series produced by EdgeProp Singapore takes an in-depth look at the rental market heat-up, which has been largely attributed to a mismatch between available rental supply and tenant demand. Alan Cheong, executive director of research and consultancy at Savills Singapore, points to the URA data which shows a y-o-y increase in the non-landed private rental index of 30%.

Whilst this is a significant jump compared to other years, it is still far less than the surge of around 40% in 2007 — an event that arose when the available rental properties could not meet the demand from investors spurred by the government’s award of the Marina Bay Sands project.

Cheong notes the current market has been galvanised as a result of a relatively low stock of rentable properties, especially in the CCR and CBD. Furthermore, “pandemic-induced delays” in some construction projects have added to the demand-supply mismatch.

Trends in rental caveats for the Core Central Region (orange) and Rest of Central Region (blue) from EdgeProp’s Market Trend tool. (Source: URA, EdgeProp Singapore)

As a result of higher rental prices, some tenants have had to look further afield for affordable properties, with some even stretching as far as Jurong East. Higher rents in prime and central neighbourhoods have also forced tenant families to look at more affordable housing options in suburban areas.

This is a concern to the overall attractiveness of Singapore as a global city for foreign talent. Cheong believes, though, that this will likely be a “one-off” situation and that the trend of the rental market is expected to be more subdued in the coming months.

Jac Ong, associate vice president at List Sotheby’s International Realty, confirms that it has generally been easier to find replacement tenants, even if a landlord is asking for a higher price. She reports steady rental demand for apartments, mainly amongst expats of French, American, Australian, British, and Chinese nationalities, due to companies setting up offices in Singapore.

In contrast, rental demand for landed homes such as bungalows and Good Class Bungalows has significantly dropped, owing to their limited supply.

Overall, Ong predicts that apartment rental enquiries will remain relatively stable in the months to come, as more expats continue to arrive in Singapore for work.