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S'pore 'still third priciest place in Asia for rents'

Published on Jan 30, 2013


SINGAPORE remains Asia's third-most expensive place for rents last year, coming in behind Tokyo and top-ranked Hong Kong, according to a new report yesterday.

An unfurnished private, three-bedroom apartment was rented for an average of US$5,510 (S$6,800) per month here last year, said human resources consultancy ECA International.

A similar flat in Tokyo averaged US$8,725 per month, while Hong Kong landlords could collect US$11,550 - twice the Singapore average.

The Singapore number is 50 per cent higher than the regional average and up about 2.7 per cent on 2011's rent.

ECA International regional director Lee Quane said the increase from 2011 to last year was modest because more than enough new properties were released to offset strong demand from expatriates.

The rent figure was based on mid-tier rates for three-bedroom flats in locations popular with expatriates - districts 9 to 11 and the East Coast area, he said.

Mr Quane expects average rents here to rise no more than 5 per cent this year, given that fewer expatriates are coming to work here.

While the difference between rents here and Hong Kong remains wide, relative accommodation costs have risen in Singapore and so eroded the cost advantages of relocating.Mr Quane said this is expected to affect demand. "We will see that acting to keep rates of (rental) increase relatively low."

He also noted that rental costs here showed a slight decrease when converted into US dollars compared with 2011, when the greenback was much weaker than the Singapore dollar now.

He said: "Between 2010 and 2011, we witnessed increases of more than 15 per cent in rents once converted into the greenback.

"Such fluctuations can have a significant impact on the cost of providing an accommodation allowance to an international assignee and companies need to factor this in when designing their approach to the housing benefits they provide."

Rents here last year were about 80 per cent higher than the global average for three-bedroom flats, placing Singapore in eighth place, up from ninth in 2011. "Expatriates tend to gravitate towards particular areas within cities because of the location of international schools, embassies or social focal points. These often tend to be the more expensive, prestigious areas in a city," Mr Quane noted.

CHERYL ONG