According to the November Rental Market Report, it was followed by District 1 (Raffles Place) with a median rent of S$12,400 and District 10 (Tung Ling, Holland Road, Bukit Timah) with a median rent of S$9,750.
Landlords have been pushing up rents to cover mortgage payments amidst rising interest rates and a looming recession.
Rents are also rising in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR).
In the RCR, rents in Region 4 (Telok Blangah, Portland) have risen by almost 50% to S$11,000 from S$7,350 a year ago.
Meanwhile, in the OCR, rents in Zone 5 (West Coast, Clementi) have increased by 29% from S$4,950 in November 2021 to S$6,400 in November 2022.
Monthly rents for high-end condominium projects have been climbing since the second quarter of 2011, reaching S$5.41 per square foot per month by the third quarter of 2022, a 13.1% year-on-year increase in rents.
The increasing number of high net worth foreigners entering Singapore, coupled with the lack of major completions and limited stock of larger homes, has led to continued rental increases in prime locations.
Despite the completion of 3,619 units in the fourth quarter of 2022, rents are expected to remain tight until early 2023.
By 2023, 18,234 new residential units are expected to be completed, increasing supply and vacancy rates.
However it is expected that it will take perhaps more than a year and a half for the property market to begin to cool or adjust.
This will be due to the delayed completion of inventory caused by the impact of the epidemic, which is close to being emptied.
Any fluctuations in the market, if they occur at all, are likely to be mild.
In the absence of a major crisis, rents tend not to be seriously affected.
When it comes to interest rates, the impact on homeowners is more psychological and has little impact on buyers' affordability, as a decade of low interest rates and high liquidity has led to a significant increase in wages and savings.
A 2-3% rise in interest rates will not have as much of an impact on buying demand compared to a decade ago.