SINGAPORE – After combing through nearly 100 rental listings, Sales Director Lim Wee King was convinced he could afford to rent a home if he increased his monthly budget from $3,000 to $3,800.
However, he was outmatched by another potential tenant who not only offered to match the $3,800 rent, but also to install a brand new air conditioning unit in the rental unit at his own expense.
“I walked away from the contract because I’m not going to match them. I’m not going to do anything crazy just to secure a unit,” said Lim, 47.
Realtors spoken to by Insight said such offers, unprecedented in the past, are surfacing to lure landlords amid the current rental market boom.
They expect competition to intensify in the coming months as more private property downgraders rent out while offering a 15-month waiting period before buying the Housing Commission’s resale flats. . This has resulted in rental demand exceeding supply.
Under the latest cooling measures, which started on Sept. 30, private home owners will have 15 months after the sale of their current private property to be able to buy HDB resale flats without housing subsidies. You have to wait. Previously, you were allowed to buy a resale flat on the open market if you sold your private property within 6 months of the HDB flat purchase.
The cap on HDB loans for homebuyers has also been tightened.
The regulation took aim at the vibrant HDB resale market, where prices have risen by about 8% in the first nine months of this year despite rising interest rates.
Rents for both HDB apartments and condominiums hit a record high in the third quarter of 2022. In the first nine months of the year, HDB rents increased by 20.7% and condominium rents increased by 20.8%.
Having sold a four-bedroom condominium unit four days before the action began, Lim ended up renting a five-bedroom HDB unit in Sengkang for $4,000 a month, but it was a hassle. not.
He had to pay a one-month security deposit for a rental unit he only saw virtually. It was a risk I was willing to take to avoid competing offers and secure a temporary home for my family of five and my dog. 15 months before his purchase of the HDB resale flat.
Hattons Asia real estate agent Joy Wong, also known as Property Mom, said affected downgraders, like her client Lim, were deemed “inappropriate” due to cooling measures. “Even before the measures, rental demand was already very high. If you can’t or don’t want to buy it right away, you’ll probably have to rent it out, which makes things even worse,” Wong said.
