Black and white houses have been in high demand in the past few years, and real estate professionals, when asked, estimated that the occupancy rate of such houses has climbed further in recent years, with rents rising strongly in the past six months.

Huttons senior research director Sid Lee said in response to an inquiry from the Union-Tribune that rents for black and white houses are estimated to have risen by 10 to 20 percent over the past six months, in line with higher rents for detached houses across the island.

He said the current monthly rent for black and white houses is likely to exceed $20,000. "They are usually favored by expatriates or expatriates (expatriates)."

Information compiled by Huttons Research shows that the top black-and-white houses in the past six months were 5 Cornwall Road, at $28,318; 5 Malcolm Road, at $28,169; and 5 Berkshire Road, at $26,889.

These three black and white houses have a floor area of more than 4,800 to 7,600 square feet and a lot area of 30,000 to 48,000 square feet, the largest of which is 5 Malcolm Road.

The black and white houses are British colonial houses with land, currently there are about 500 of them across the island, they are state property, managed by the Singapore Land Authority, and are only used for renting, because of their architectural design, large land area, and large floor area, they have always been sought after.

Black and white houses are usually not close to town centers or MRT stations, their locations and sizes vary, and the larger the house the higher the rent.

Real estate analyst Wang Jiasheng pointed out in an interview that black and white houses have generally enjoyed strong rental demand over the years. The rental rate fluctuates depending on the season or quarter, and it is estimated that the vacancy rate since 2015 is only 8%, meaning that the average annual occupancy rate is about 92%.

However, he found that since the coronary epidemic, black and white houses have become more popular with people, including home office and video conferencing executives, and the occupancy rate has risen further to 95 to 98 percent.

In fact, there is a long waiting list of qualified tenants for all kinds of black and white houses," said Wang Jiasheng. Those black and white townhomes that have been vacant are generally poorly located homes where tenants may find the location too remote. Senior expats who are offered family living packages by their companies for transfer to Singapore also need to consider the proximity of their homes to international schools for the convenience of their children."

He said there is strong demand for housing rentals as expats have a good housing budget, especially as Singapore has reopened in April this year. Expats from the West, in particular, prefer the unique design of black and white houses.

Wong Gah Seng estimated that the rent of black and white houses has increased by an average of about 3 percent per year since 2015, but since 2020, the annual growth rate is between 5 and 7 percent, due to the coronary disease epidemic and home office making black and white houses more popular.

Wong Gah Sing pointed out that there are also locals who rent black and white houses, and they choose to stay in black and white houses temporarily after selling their HDB flats before buying a private home, which can avoid paying additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) while enjoying the experience of living in a black and white house.

Black and white houses were built by the British for civil servants and officials during the colonial era between 1898 and 1941, and were located in various parts of the island, including the Nason Road area, Bukit Timah, Alexander Park, Sembawang and Serita.