SINGAPORE, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Rental prices for Singapore's non-landed private homes increased by 1.3 percent in January compared to the previous month, while rents for public housing flats built by Housing and Development Board (HDB) dropped 0.6 percent month-on-month, said Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX Property) in a flash estimates on Wednesday.
On a year-on-year basis, rental prices for private apartments were down 5 percent in January generally. Rents for private apartments in the downtown area, city fringe and suburban area slipped 2.9 percent, 6.1 percent and 5.7 percent respectively.
Rental volume for non-landed private homes rose by 5.8 percent month-on-month, with about 3,813 units rented out in January, compared with 3,605 units rented in December last year.
As for HDB market, SRX Property revealed that rents in January slipped 0.6 percent compared with that in the previous month. Rental prices for four-room flats, five-room and executive flats posted a 0.8 percent and 1.5 percent and 0.3 percent drop respectively.
On contrary, rental prices for three-room flats increased by 0.2 percent.
HDB rents were down by 4.8 percent in January on a year-on-year basis, which was a 12.7 percent decline compared to its peak in August 2013, said SRX Property.
On HDB rental volume, it saw a 16.1 percent decrease in January month-on-month. It was estimated that 1,427 HDB flats were rented out in January, compared to 1,701 units in the previous month.
About 80 percent of the resident population in Singapore live in units built by HDB and sold to eligible households. The public housing market is more tightly regulated than the private one.
A single purchase
