Analysts believe this data indicates that the rental market has begun to stabilise, with the rate of decline slowing slightly, although rents remain weak. However, this weak trend is expected to persist over the next year.

Looking at the performance of private housing by region, mass-market private rents in the Outside Central Region (OCR) saw the biggest drop of 0.9 per cent. Upscale private rents in the Core Central Region (CCR) fell by 0.3 per cent, while mid-range private rents in the Other Central Region (RCR) rose by 0.8 per cent.

Compared to the same period last year, overall private rents rose by 10.8 per cent, but the current downward trend suggests that market demand is gradually shrinking.

There are several reasons for the drop in rents. Firstly, Malaysian employees working in Singapore are choosing to live across the border in Johor to avoid the higher cost of living in Singapore due to the strong Singapore dollar and weak Malaysian currency.

Secondly, the increased supply of private homes has also put pressure on rents. Many condominium projects were completed over the past year, leading to a continuous decline in rental transactions. In addition, the declining rental trend is likely to continue in November and December, which are school holidays and usually a slow season for the property market.

It is expected that the private rental market may slow down further next year as local demand continues to shrink and more new flats are completed. Forecasts show that rental increases will slow from 29.7 per cent for the whole of last year to 12 to 14 per cent this year, and may slow further to 2 to 5 per cent next year.

In contrast, the HDB rental market declined after 24 consecutive months of gains. in October, HDB rents fell 0.4 per cent from a year earlier, but were still up 14.1 per cent compared to the same period last year. HDB rents are expected to remain subdued in November and December.

Looking ahead to next year, apart from the completion of more new private homes and executive condominiums, there are about 34,000 HDB flats that have reached the minimum residency period (five years), which are likely to be sold or rented out, further increasing supply in the market. As a result, private rents are expected to fall by 10 to 15 per cent for the whole of next year, and HDB rents will also continue to decline.