What can push rental demand for condos and HDB flats?

Demand for housing will not “rebound too significantly,” says an expert.

Rental demand for condos and HDB flats will not be able to “rebound significantly” in the coming months, but a ramp-up in foreign employment may change that, property expert OrangeTee said. 

Sustained hiring of expatriates across industries like IT, banking and healthcare were also amongst the reasons why there was a bump up in rental demand for both housing types, said Huttons Asia.

Citing a recent survey, Huttons said 50% of companies in Singapore are planning to increase headcount in the last quarter of 2022.

“This will continue to boost rental demand and rents for the rest of 2022,” said Huttons.

OrangeTee said the government's new initiatives to attract top foreign talent in key sectors like issuing new work passes for high earners and high-achievers may also bode well for the luxury segment.

“There may also be a higher demand for large private homes including landed properties as these foreign ex-pats can sponsor their dependents to live here and they may stay for up to five years,” the expert added.

Whilst rental demand for condos and HDB flats rebounded slightly by 0.4% MoM and 3.8% MoM, respectively, in August, the recent figures are still lower compared to a year ago.

“Last month's rebound may not signal that the markets have recovered to their previous levels,” said OrangeTee.