Rentals keep up with rise in home prices

Rentals have kept pace with the rise in private home prices, but not across the board.

"Rental yields remain at 3.7 per cent islandwide," Maybank Kim Eng said in a report that compared 2011 and 2012 rentals at projects with more than 10 rental contracts. The minimal change in the figure indicates condominium rental rates have generally kept up with the increase in prices last year.

However, not all districts fared equally. The worst showings were in Newton and Sentosa, with yields compressing to just 2.2 per cent last year.


Median rentals fell by 15 cents per sq ft (psf) in Newton and 12 cents psf in Sentosa last year, which Maybank Kim Eng said was likely due to the rise in completed supply in those areas.

Condos in Newton that received their temporary occupation permit last year include the 30-storey freehold condo Trilight, which has 205 units.

Maybank Kim Eng estimated that net yields could be as low as 1.8 per cent in Sentosa. The chart-toppers were Woodlands, Jurong and Choa Chu Kang, which offered rental yields of 4.4 per cent last year.

Sengkang, a former favourite with rental yields of 4.4 per cent in 2011, has seen its yields decline to 4.2 per cent last year, Maybank Kim Eng said.

The research house noted that yield compression last year was most apparent in the city fringe.

Newton and Bukit Timah rental yields fell by between 0.25 and 0.31 percentage point, reflecting a greater appreciation of resale values relative to rental rates, Maybank Kim Eng said.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday that private residential prices increased 2.8 per cent year-on-year last year, a slowdown from the segment's 5.9 per cent price rise in 2011 from the preceding year.

At the same time, rents for private residential properties grew 2.1 per cent last year from those of 2011, a slower pace than the 3.8 per cent rise in 2011, URA said. But property consultants said they are already seeing signs of moderation in rental rates.

"Rentals have started to slow as (a greater) supply of complete units appears in the market," said ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim.

Source: The Straits Times –26 January 2013