Condo rents up 1.6% MoM for January 2022

HDB rentals, meanwhile, also saw a 1.2% increase.

Condo rentals increased by 1.6% on January 2022, according to the latest 99.co and SRX flash report. 

Condos located Outside the Central Region (OCR) had the highest rental increase by 2.2%, while Rest of the Central Region and Core Central Region saw similar increases by 1.7% and 0.8%, respectively. 

Year on year, overall rents increased by 11.2%, with OCR again leading rental increases at 12.7%. CCR increased by 10.4%, while RCR followed suit with a 10.3% increase. 

An estimated 4,646 units were rented in January 2022, higher than the 4,472 units recorded in December 2021. On a yearly basis, however, rental volumes were 5.8% lower, with volumes being 1% higher than the 5-year average volume for the month of January.

Overall, 39.9% of the total volumes are from OCR, while RCR and CCR made up 31.6% and 28.5%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the HDB rental market also echoed the same growth, with a 1.2% increase for January 2022. 

Mature Estates saw an increase in rents by 2.9%, while non-mature estate rents dipped by 0.5%. 4 Room had the most rental increase at 1.6%, followed by 3 Room, 5 Room and Executive rents at 1.4%, 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively.

YoY, overall rents for HDBs were up by 11.2%, with mature and non-mature estates seeing increases of 10.5% and 11.8%, respectively. All room types followed this trend, with 3 Room, 4 Room, 5 Room and Executive rents seeing jumps of 9.9%, 10.9%, 12.3% and 8.8%, respectively. 

HDB rental volumes increased by 2.4% m-o-m, with an estimated 1,806 HDB flats being rented in January 2022. This is lower than the 1,764 units seen in December 2021. 

YoY, rental volumes were down by 7.3, with volumes also being 3.5% lower than the 5-year average volume for the month of January. 

Monthly, broken down by room types, 37.4% of the total rent volumes were made up of 4 Room, 33.3% from 3 Room, 24% from 5 Room and 5.2% from Executive. 

Christine Sun, OrangeTee Senior Vice President of Research & Analytics, attributed the increase in rentals in the two sectors to the easing of border controls and international arrivals.

"After the government implemented new cooling measures, we observed more HDB upgraders selling their flats first before buying a new home to avoid paying the Additional Buyers' Stamp Duty. Many people were renting in the interim. This group of people will continue to contribute to the tenant pool in the coming months as more flats reach MOP and more HDB owners upgrade to private homes," Sun added.

Rental volumes for condominiums, in particular, areexpected to rise by 3%, while HDB rentals are predicted to follow with an 8% to 11% rise.