what this means for foreigners

SINGAPORE — Foreign residents in Singapore continue to feel the pinch as home rental prices soar and show few signs of returning to pre-pandemic levels soon. 

Whether one’s renting a room, an apartment or a house, long-time expatriates living in Singapore are digging deep into their pockets and making drastic changes to cope with rising rents.

According to data from Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority’s rental index, prices of all private residential properties surged by 29.7% year-on-year in 2022 — the highest since 2007. 

Some foreigners living here say their landlords may be taking advantage of an overheated property market to jack up prices — with some doubling the rent. 

Although the pace of rent hikes appears to be starting to slow, landlords can still expect to see double-digit growth in prices, said Christine Li, head of Asia-Pacific research at Knight Frank. 

“If rents continue to grow steadily, more people will just bite the bullet and purchase a property before paying higher prices for rent,” she said. 

But some industry experts say prices might ease in the latter part of the year.

“Relief is expected to come only from the second half of 2023 when the slowing economy and the fallout in the tech sector starts to work its way through the demand side of the rental market,” said Alan Cheong, executive director of research and consultancy at Savills Singapore. 

“However, even if rents were to correct, it could be mild and not likely to retrace in any significant manner the rise that had taken place since 2021,” he told CNBC.