Private residential rents rise 0.7% in Q2 as home prices inch up 0.5%: URA

Ry-Anne Lim

SINGAPORE - Rents for Singapore private homes were up 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, rising slightly faster than the 0.3 per cent increase in the first quarter of the year.

Home prices rose 0.5 per cent, as previously estimated in flash data released earlier in July, showed figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Jul 24.

The uptick in both rents and prices came even as the vacancy rate climbed to 6.4 per cent as at end-Q2, from 6.2 per cent in Q1.

It follows the completion of 1,212 private housing units in Q2, of which 512 were executive condominiums (ECs) and 700 were private residential units.

Rents for landed properties rose the most in Q2, increasing 2.7 per cent against the 0.1 per cent gain in the previous quarter. Non-landed home rental growth was flat, with a 0.4 per cent increase mirroring the rise in Q1.

Prime area rents – of non-landed homes in the Core Central Region – outpaced other regions, rising 1.2 per cent in Q2 versus a mild 0.5 per cent uplift in the previous quarter.

In the city-fringe, Rest of Central Region rents were unchanged after slipping 0.2 per cent in Q1.

Rents of suburban area condos eased 0.3 per cent in Q2, reversing from the 1 per cent increase in the previous quarter.

In the primary market, developers launched 1,783 private homes, excluding ECs, for sale in Q2, some 3 per cent less than Q1’s 1,844 units. Sales volume however rose to 2,141 units in Q2, from 2,013 units previously.

In the second half of 2026, 5,012 private homes – including ECs – are set to be ready, based on the expected completion dates reported by developers. These include units with and without planning approval. Another 9,704 units are expected to be completed in 2027, 11,204 in 2028 and 10,188 in 2029.

Beyond that, more than 24,000 units will be completed, bringing the total number of private home completions to 60,625 units over the coming few years.

Public housing

Meanwhile, prices decreased 0.3 per cent in Singapore’s public housing resale market in Q2, extending from a 0.1 per cent dip in the previous quarter, data from the Housing & Development Board (HDB) showed.

Transaction volumes of resale flats, on the other hand, rose 1.8 per cent in Q2 to 6,396 units, from 6,285 units in the previous quarter. Year on year, this was an around 10 per cent decline.

The highest median resale prices for HDB homes were seen in Punggol and Sengkang for three-room flats ($545,000), the central area for four-room flats ($1.19 million), and Hougang for five-room and executive flats ($983,000).

Estates with the lowest prices were Geylang for three-room flats ($358,000), and Jurong West for four-room ($530,000), five-room ($633,500) and executive flats ($795,000).

On the rental market front, there were 58,855 HDB units rented out as at end-Q2, with 10,002 approved rental cases in the quarter, up 4.9 per cent quarter on quarter. The highest median monthly rental price was for five-room flats in the central area at $5,100, while the lowest was for two-room flats in Sengkang at $2,350. THE BUSINESS TIMES