According to Savills' residential rent report for the first quarter of this year, the Urban Renewal Authority's rental index showed that private rents rose by 7.7% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, a slight slowdown in growth.

The number of transactions over the same period contracted by 11.7 per cent year-on-year, the lowest number of rental transactions in the first quarter since 2018, and HDB rental applications also fell by 5.2 per cent year-on-year.

Savills said the rental market started to see localised weak demand from mid-February this year, particularly for units with a monthly rent of less than $10,000.

As more private flats are completed and vacancy periods lengthen, landlords are expected to be more willing to negotiate rental prices.

In addition, an estimated 17,600 private residential units were completed this year, nearly double the number of last year.

However, the number of incoming foreign workers is likely to be limited due to the current challenges faced by most of the real economy and technology-related businesses.