Rents for condominiums and private apartments weakened for the sixth straight month, falling a sharper 1.3 per cent in December from the previous month, and 6.2 per cent for the whole of last year, according to flash estimates released by SRX Property yesterday.
Rents in December are now down 19.9 per cent compared with their peak in January 2013.
The HDB market saw rents edge up by 0.2 per cent from November, though they still lodged a 3.7 per cent fall for 2016. Compared with their peak in August 2013, HDB rents are now 12 per cent lower.
In the private leasing market, rents fell almost equally across all locations last year - 6.2 per cent in prime districts, 6.3 per cent in the city fringe and 6.1 per cent in outlying areas.
The number of condo and apartment leasings also fell last month, down 2.2 per cent to 3,691 units from 3,775 in November. Year on year, rental volume last month was 17.1 per cent higher than the 3,152 units leased in December 2015.
The HDB rental market also saw fewer leasings last month, with an estimated 1,689 flats taken up, a 4.6 per cent drop from 1,771 units in November. Year on year, rental volume last month fell by 13.5 per cent from December 2015.
HDB rents for three-room, five-room and executive flats rose by 0.8 per cent, 0.6 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively, while rents for four-room flats dipped 0.5 per cent.
The Straits Times
Source; SRX (12 Jan 2017)
The Straits Times