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Singapore’s Surging Rents Shock Expats and Encourage Scammers
The city-state’s rental market is so hot, people are snapping up apartments without ever visiting themBy Faris Mokhtar andXiao Zibang
28 June 2022, 5:00 AM SGT
When Canadian expat Michelle went to renew the lease on her three-story house in Singapore in May, her landlord wanted to raise the rent by almost 40%.
Michelle tried to negotiate but the owner wouldn’t budge on the S$10,000 ($7,200) a month asking price. She’s moving her family into a three-bedroom apartment next month.
“I took what I could get,” said Michelle, who asked not to use her full name on concern it may impact her business in the city-state. There’s “a lot of greed at the moment.”
Rents are skyrocketing in Singapore, particularly in the prime accommodation favored by expatriate residents, as surging demand from locals and newer arrivals collides with pandemic-induced delays in supply. Rental prices for the private properties leased by expats are rising on average by 20% to 40%, according to 10 real estate agents interviewed by Bloomberg, though some landlords are even asking for double the previous rent.
Rent Rush
Average high-end rates have risen by 20%-40% in SingaporeThe island’s expats command higher-than-average wages and will be far from the worst hit as the cost of living jumps. But the sharp increases make the city less competitive compared with other financial and business hubs in luring talent to the city.“Singapore will be pricing itself out of being a place where expats can afford to live — it's already expensive but this will be the tipping point for a lot of people,” said Juliet Stannard, director and owner of Citiprop Property Management. “No one can afford a 50% rent increase. This is not sustainable.”
Ulisse Dell’Orto said his landlord wanted to double the rent when he tried to renew the lease on his one-bedroom apartment in central Singapore this year. Dell’Orto, the Asia-Pacific head of Chainalysis Inc., a blockchain analytics company, said he’s trying to negotiate.
In January, the asking price to rent a bungalow in a luxury residential area on Sentosa island shot up by S$11,000 in a day, starting at S$26,000 a month and closing at S$37,000, according to Navin Bafna, an agent at Singapore-based PropNex Realty Pte.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...rise-surging-prices-put-expats-under-pressure
Agents all huat ah