Singapore Expats

We're moving over from Hong Kong to Singapore in January and have already visited some apartments and houses on a recent visit.

Are now onto rental price negotiation and landlords seem to be maintaining high rents for the development that we like.

They won't even show us some of the available units as we have capped our budget , but it is not so much lower than their low threshold of acceptance.??? Why don't they just show them and hope to get a better offer???

As we near the dates that their current tenancies end, are they more likely to accept a lower offer or are they more likely to insist on their expected rental incomes and just sit it out with an empty place?
We have known landlords like this in the past, too much money and would rather an empty place .

How is the rental market doing? Supply vs demand? Rents coming up or down???

out of curiousity, what developments and areas are you looking at?

queenie71 wrote:We're moving over from Hong Kong to Singapore in January and have already visited some apartments and houses on a recent visit.

Are now onto rental price negotiation and landlords seem to be maintaining high rents for the development that we like.

They won't even show us some of the available units as we have capped our budget , but it is not so much lower than their low threshold of acceptance.??? Why don't they just show them and hope to get a better offer???

As we near the dates that their current tenancies end, are they more likely to accept a lower offer or are they more likely to insist on their expected rental incomes and just sit it out with an empty place?
We have known landlords like this in the past, too much money and would rather an empty place .

How is the rental market doing? Supply vs demand? Rents coming up or down???

imo, i think that the current rental market is going down but for more reliable information you can always go to the URA website (http://www.ura.gov.sg/), they always post up quarterly updates of the current real estate market in Singapore.

As for why the landlord is maintaining a high rental rates, might be the duration of the lease contract, if the duration is too short or too long to the landlord liking, he/she might charge a higher than market rate rent.

And whether the landlord is more likely to accept lower rental when they current tenanacies is ending soon, would have to depend whether the landlord has any other potential client in his book. if there are other potential client in his book then the landlord will try and push up the rent price as high as possible so that the landlord gets the highest possible rental rate

For course, all the above stated is what i think in my opinion.

thats a great site.

Thanks Lee Yii.

It gives stats on the median, upper and lower rental quartiles per $psf for all the different condos in Singapore.... its all good.

It depends on which development u are looking at. If it is at a perfect location where MRT(so-called MTR in HK) is at doorstep or closer by and food centers are within walking distance, it is very demanding.

IMO, the hard time(economy crisis) in SG has past and most of the landlords can afford to hold their units empty until their expected rentals are reached.

Agree with Lee Yii, the landlords might be playing auction game when he/she has lots of chips in hand.

Just a suggestion. If u will be driving in SG, u will have lot more choice. Rather than paying high rental for a unit in city center, it is worth to get a car and rent a nicer place at lower rate outside CBD unless u like to stay within CBD.

looking at clusterhouses and a condo devpt called Glentrees.

Like the look of photos of clusterhouses in North but is too far for us. So what we pay in chreaper rent, will come back in transport and lost time.

Holland V and Bukit T Area is near school for the children - don't really want to move further out.

Actually, wouldn't at all mind Myer Rd area of East Coast but haven't seen any modern condos of right size and requirements etc... oh, of course and within budget!

Will changes in propoerty values affect the price of Serviced Apartments?

Queenie, it seems that you are looking for apartments that are located near to schools.

Bukit timah and Holland V will be a good choose as there are near to some of the top schools in Singapore.

and for Myer Rd in East Coast area i would say that they have some really nice development, maybe u can look further into areas like Siglap, as that area has more of those modern but low rised condo. (And of course these area has some well-reputable school around)

Will changes in propoerty values affect the price of Serviced Apartments?

I would say no, cause from what i believe Serviced Apartment in Singapore operates more like hotel (depending on the standard the serviced apartment they provide).