Rental demand for non-landed dwellings is estimated at 85,000 units in 2022, some 8% lower than in 2021, while rental demand for landed dwellings is estimated to be similar to 2021.
By 2023, the private housing market is expected to have around 17,000 completions. However, it may not immediately ease the pressure on the rental market.
Many of the completions are located outside the Central District (OCR) and in the Other Central District (RCR), where homes are being purchased more for owner-occupation than for investment purposes. As a result, there may not be many new homes for rent.
At the same time, as tenants' budgets are squeezed, demand may flow to the Other Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR).
There are more and more companies allowing mixed working patterns and the distance of housing from the central business district becomes less important.
In addition, the 30 September cooling measures may force some former private home owners to rent their homes while waiting for the 15-month deadline to buy resale HDB flats.
The slowdown in economic conditions in 2023 may slow down hiring in some sectors, which may reduce demand for rental housing.
However, an increase in property taxes may result in landlords passing on some of their taxes to tenants.
Rents are still expected to rise in 2023, but the rate of increase will slow to 10 to 15 per cent.
HDB Flats Delays in the completion of HDB and private housing have led to tenants extending their leases; more foreign employees and students are arriving in Singapore looking for HDB flats to rent and live in.
Some Malaysian employees have also opted not to renew their leases and have returned to commuting day in and day out from Long Beach to Singapore for work.
Overall, the estimated rental volume for 2022 is between 34,000 and 36,000 units, which is about 15% to 20% lower than 2021. Government HDB rental payments
HDB flat owners who use HDB rents to pay their private mortgages have raised their rents in the wake of rising interest rates, and HDB rents are expected to increase by 25 per cent by 2022.
As more private homes and HDB flats are completed in 2023, owners will move to new locations and vacate their flats for rent.
The slowdown in economic conditions in 2023 may slow down hiring in some sectors of the economy, which may reduce demand for rental accommodation.
However, more new private homes will be launched in 2023, and many HDB upgraders will prefer to sell their HDB flats and rent during this period to avoid paying additional buyer's stamp duty.
Similarly, the 30 September cooling measures may benefit the HDB rental market and some former private home owners may temporarily rent their HDB flats while waiting to buy a resale HDB flat for 15 months. Landlords may be able to pass on some of the increase in property tax to tenants in 2023.
The interaction of more supply and strong demand could mean that HDB rents could rise by 10 to 15 per cent in 2023, down from the increase in 2022.
