http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/...h-low-20140410
Private apartment rents hit 27-month low
Published on Apr 10, 2014
By Melissa Tan
RENTS for private apartments fell to a 27-month low last month as landlords competed for tenants amid a flood of new homes on the market.
The fall came despite more leases being inked in March than in February, according to the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) yesterday.
More private homes also changed hands in March than in February, sending resale prices slightly higher.
However, consultants were quick to downplay the increase in prices and number of resales, saying that buyer sentiment remained weak.
Overall rents sank 0.9 per cent in March from February - folllowing a 0.9 per cent drop in February from the previous month - plumbing their lowest point since December 2011, the SRX said.
"Rental prices continue to decline with record supply," it said.
But it noted that an estimated 3,087 private homes were rented in March, up 27.8 per cent from the 2,416 leases signed in February.
The number of resales also rose, up 82.6 per cent from February to 451. This was the highest resale volume since last October but still 22.5 per cent lower than the 582 units resold in March last year.
The SRX said the transactions it compiles are recorded based on the contract date or option exercise date. This means it is less likely that the sharp rise was because deals struck in February - a shorter month - had their caveats lodged in March instead.
Resale prices also eked out a marginal 0.2 per cent increase last month after tumbling 3.1 per cent in February.
However, consultants said this did not signal a recovery in the beleaguered property market.
The resale price increase "mustn't be read as significantly improved buyers' sentiments for resale homes", said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.
Nor can it be construed as heralding a resale price turnaround, he added. The fact that the prices only rose marginally while the number of deals shot up showed that most buyers were just looking to snap up bargains, he said.
The gains were led by homes in the city fringe, where prices rose 1.3 per cent, while those in the city centre were up 0.3 per cent. Suburban condominium resale prices softened 0.1 per cent.
"The increased completion of private housing is likely to continue to exert downward pressure on private home rents," said ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim.
More than 17,000 private residential units are expected to be completed this year.
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