Singapore falls to 7th place for high-end rentals

Home purchases by foreigners here have fallen significantly after the government imposed a new round of property cooling measures...

Singapore has fallen three spots this year for high-end rental accommodation in Asia.

Singapore has emerged as the seventh most expensive destination in Asia for high-end rental accommodation this year, down from fourth place in 2016, reported the Business Times.

Hong Kong retained its position as Asia’s most expensive location, with monthly rent for an unfurnished three-bedroom apartment hitting US$10,189 (S$14,473) on average.

Tokyo and Seoul grabbed the second and third spots respectively, followed by Yokohama, Shanghai and Beijing.

Mobility solutions provider ECA International’s latest Accommodation Survey showed that average rents in Singapore have dropped significantly since 2012, with an unfurnished three-bedroom apartment in popular expatriate neighbourhoods averaging US$4,535 (S$6,443) per month.

Lee Quane, Regional Director for Asia at ECA International, attributed the drop in rent to several factors.

“Firstly, expatriate numbers in Singapore have stabilised recently, which has curbed demand for rental property in popular expatriate neighbourhoods. Furthermore, improved transport links in Singapore have led to movement away from historically popular districts such as 9-11 to cheaper locations,” he said.

“Singapore has also received more assignees from places such as China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand whose housing budgets are likely to be lower. These factors, combined with an increased supply of property in the market, have caused landlords to respond by reducing rental prices,” added Quane.

 

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg