Condo, HDB rents in July see first uptick since February

Singapore

IT was a mixed picture for Singapore's rental housing market - while rents for HDB flats and private apartments saw their first monthly increase in four months in July, leasings fell as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to impact travel and jobs.

The SRX data showed HDB rents rose 1.4 per cent in July from the previous month, a bigger rate of increase than the small 0.4 per cent rise for private condominiums and apartments, One possible reason for the "healthy" increase in HDB rents is demand from Malaysian workers or their employers to rent HDB flats here given the Covid-19 border restrictions, said ERA Realty's head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak.