Singapore private residential leasing volume surges by 24.4% to 25,731 in Q3

And the number of rental contracts also grew by 10% vs last year.

With Q3 traditionally being a busier quarter due to seasonal factors, such as the school year and corporate relocation cycles, and lease expiries and renewals, the islandwide leasing volume of private residential properties (excluding ECs) in Singapore surged 24.4% QoQ to 25,731, according to data from Savills. 

Also, the number of rental contracts was 9.9% higher than the 23,422 recorded in the same period of 2023. 

Here’s more from Savills:

The QoQ growth in Q3/2024 was observed across various property types and market segments. The number of landed rental contracts surged by 46.0% QoQ to 1,610, while that for non-landed residential properties rose by 23.2% QoQ to 24,121. 

A further breakdown in the non-landed residential property segment revealed that the quarterly growth was led by the RCR, where leasing transactions increased by 25.2%, followed by the Core Central Region (CCR) at 23.5% and the OCR at 21.2%. 

Overall, the robust growth for lease volume in the reviewed quarter continued to be primarily driven by more upgrading their accommodations. This was fuelled by more palatable rents and an ample supply of units from new completions. Also, with the rents having fallen for the four prior quarters, more tenants have begun to look for one to two-bedroom units, instead of sharing a larger unit with others. 

The latest statistics on Singapore’s population and the labour market reaffirm our view mentioned in earlier briefings: demand in Singapore’s private residential leasing market, particularly in the mid- and high-end sectors, remains relatively weak. 

First, Singapore’s total population increased by 2.0% YoY to 6.04 million as of June 2024. This growth was mainly driven by the rise in the non-resident population, which expanded by 5.0% from 1.77 million in June 2023 to 1.86 million in June 2024. However, it is worth noting that the increase largely contributed to the growth in Work Permit Holders (WPHs) and Migrant Domestic Workers. 

Furthermore, based on the labour market’s advance estimates, like in Q2/2024, most of the non-resident employment increase in Q3/2024 came from WPHs in non-PMET roles, such as those working in the Construction, Manufacturing, and Administrative and Support Services sectors. These WPHs tend to be housed in workers accommodation and public housing units. 

Moving forward, amidst challenging business conditions, as companies continue to reduce headcounts as part of cost-cutting efforts, a decrease in new EP and S Pass holders (the higher income foreign workers) is expected and would likely result in lower demand from new foreign tenants, particularly for mid and high-end private residential properties. 

Based on rental contracts for non-landed private residential properties, the top five projects by leasing volume in Q3/2024 were Stirling Residences, Park Colonial and Normanton Park in the RCR, along with The Sail @ Marina Bay and Marina One Residences in the CCR. Together, these projects recorded a total of 834 rental contracts, with 83.6% involving one and two-bedroom units. 

One-bedroom units were more popular in the CCR, accounting for 47.4% of leasing volumes in The Sail @ Marina Bay and 56.5% in Marina One Residences. On the other hand, two-bedroom units were the most rented in the three RCR projects, comprising 60.6% of transactions in Stirling Residences, 48.6% in Park Colonial and 42.0% in Normanton Park.