Not long ago, someone was interviewed by the local media and said that the landlord had suddenly and temporarily increased the rent by close to 50%! Much of this is due to the influx of foreigners, which has led to a bullish demand for local rental properties, which are becoming increasingly scarce.
Previously, Singaporean media outlet New Matinee reported a story about a four-bedroom HDB flat in Mindi Mia Road, which the landlord offered to rent out at a high price of S$4,600 for the whole flat!
How difficult is it to rent a flat in Singapore?
1) The rent is going up almost every month, this month the price for the same type of flat in the same neighbourhood is more expensive than last month. Landlords are asking for higher prices, even if they are sky high, and as long as the house is still good, it is almost always swept up.
2) on behalf of the landlord of all kinds of picking tenant background, in addition to the usual usual questions, background checks often recently a lot more people asking for work units, titles, and even a request to see family photos to judge the face and family harmony degree.
3) arrange for multiple groups of tenants to come to see the property at the same time or at different times on the same day, the landlord interviews the tenants themselves, everyone bids, either the highest bidder wins, or the one who looks good plus passes the interview wins.
4) send out a message to inquire about the property, 10 inside 7 read the message not back to you, 2 back to you have been rented out, and 1 back to you house is still in, ask you to take the background after saying later on to inform. Then this "further notice" will not be returned no matter how much you message him/her later.
5) as a tenant agent must be to the landlord agent all kinds of greetings + pat on the back, begging grandpa and grandmother, just hope that the other party can give you a chance to see the house.
6) If you are lucky, you will finally get a viewing after your background has been vetted, but a day or two before the viewing, the landlord will always say something unexpected.
The current rental market in Singapore is outrageous for both renters and renters, but that's just the way it is.
This shows that rising rents may not be the only dilemma that potential renters face when renting in Singapore.
On the other hand, Lai Nai Chao pointed out that the small size of Singapore means that there are fewer properties available, so demand outstrips supply, resulting in higher rents in the rental market. The rapid recovery of Singapore's economy, especially after the epidemic, has led to a surge in the number of workers coming to Singapore, which has also contributed to the rise in rents in Singapore.
According to data, more than a third of Singapore's current population of 5.45 million are expatriates, of whom about 650,000 are permanent residents or white-collar visa holders, making them the mainstay of the rental market.
But even though rents are rising, it is still hard to find a room. According to Yuxi, co-founder of the App, Singapore's Home Ownership Policy has resulted in an 82% home ownership rate, leading to an oversupply.
Apart from the general market environment, there are also some speculative factors. Some local residents have analysed the reasons for the explosion in rents, saying that most of them are due to second homeowners renting out multiple quality properties and then renting them out at high prices, leading to disruptions in market prices. In addition, some of the reasons are due to the increase in bank interest rates and property taxes, etc., which have led to expensive rents.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry expects Singapore's economic growth to slow further this year given the many uncertainties still facing global economic growth in 2023, and continues to maintain its previous forecast of 0.5% to 2.5% GDP growth for Singapore in 2023.
