SINGAPORE: Rental prices for Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats have continued to increase, following the same trajectory from the beginning of the year. Following a 0.6 per cent increase in March, HDB rental prices went up by 0.3 per cent again in April, according to property website 99.co.
Each type of HDB flat saw a rental price increase in April, with the exception of five-room flats, whose rental prices fell by 0.4 per cent.
Rental for three-room flats rose by 0.6 per cent, while it saw an increase of 0.4 per cent for four-room flats and 0.1 per cent for executive apartments.
“Not a big jump month-on-month but a large leap upwards from last year’s numbers,” the company noted.
Meanwhile, rental prices for condominiums have been on the decline, which may be attributed to a surplus supply continuing to exert downward pressure.
99.co said today (17 May): “In contrast, HDB rental prices have consistently been reaching all-time highs. Although the overall price increase for the month was modest at 0.3 per cent, rental prices have generally been on an upward trend since the beginning of the year.
“Despite the increase in rental prices, HDB rental volume has steadily risen over the past two months. Rental prices for HDB properties may continue to rise as they remain a viable alternative to condo rentals.”
Read also: HDB rents expected to remain stable due to demand for affordability
Year-on-year, HDB rents have gone up by 7.6 per cent as of April.
They increased by 0.7 per cent in non-mature estates last month, while decreasing by 0.3 per cent in mature estates. Year-on-year, however, rental prices have risen in both, by 7.8 per cent in non-mature estates and 7.3 per cent in mature estates.
At the same time, rental volumes went up last month as well, increasing 9.2 per cent from March. The volume has gone down by 9.5 per cent year on year, however.
But rental volume increased across the different unit types: three-room flats by 6.4 per cent, four-room flats by 8.6 per cent, 5-room flats by 7.4 per cent, and executive flats by 10.1 per cent.
“This upward trend in rents across all categories indicates a strong demand for HDB flats over the past year,” added 99.co. /TISG
Read also: 99-SRX: HDB rental prices reach new all-time high, condo rental prices hit lowest since Jan 2023