Singapore private-home and condo rents slip 1%, HDB flat rents down 0.5% in March (Amended)

RENTALS for non-landed private homes and HDB (Housing & Development Board) flats eased in March 2017 over the previous month, show the latest flash estimates released by SRX Property on Wednesday morning.

SRX Property said its rental index for private apartments and condos fell 1.0 per cent month on month (m-o-m) in March after rising 0.7 per cent m-o-m in February.

The index has shrunk 3.9 per cent year on year (y-o-y) from March 2016 and is also 19.1 per cent below its peak in January 2013.

An estimated 4,549 non-landed private homes were rented in March 2017, reflecting a 14.6 per cent increase from the 3,971 units rented in February 2017.

Year on year, the rental volume in March 2017 was 1.3 per cent lower than the 4,611 units rented in March 2016.

In the HDB flats segment, SRX Property's rental index eased 0.5 per cent m-o-m in March 2017, the same percentage drop as recorded in February 2017. The index was 4.7 per cent lower y-o-y compared with March 2016 and is also 13.9 per cent below its August 2013 peak.

SRX Property estimates that 2,045 HDB flats were rented last month - an increase of about 32 per cent from the previous month's 1,546 units but a drop of 7.5 per cent from a year ago.

Amendment note: An earlier version of this article stated that SRX Property's HDB flat rental index in March 2017 was 5.1 per cent lower year-on-year compared with March 2016. SRX Property has since clarified that the figure should have been 4.7 per cent. The above article has been revised to reflect this.