HDB Rental statistics

[Wd40]

I didn't know that such a statistics even existed, just stumbled upon it:

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10323p.nsf ... enDocument

It shows you median rentals by HDB town by house type by quarter. Its amazing how prices have risen and now stabilized and starting to come down(hopefully!)

[Steve1960]

This is what was used to set the rental on the HDB I am in.

Win some lose some for me. I entered into the first agreement when prices hit a low around March 2012. I then paid below the HDB median for 2 years.

Unfortunately I had to negotiate the following 18 months contract when the median was higher. If rental costs do drop I will be paying over the median.

According to my agent the data is good and can be used reliably but I don't know that for sure and have not investigated.

[Wd40]

Yes, also you need to take into account that if the house is you are renting is nicely furnished, renovated and/or near MRT/Amenities etc then even if you are paying higher than the median its ok.
Because remember there plenty of HDBs in run down conditions that were given in the same original condition that the owner got it 40 years ago. These houses should technically get rented out atleast $300-400 below the median and the nicer ones $300-400 above median

[JR8]

Private property sale prices... http://www.ura.gov.sg/realEstateIIWeb/t ... rch.action

Dig around and they produce aggregate rent px's too (IIRC, aggregate by individual condo by quarter - or similar)

[Steve1960]

Yes, also you need to take into account that if the house is you are renting is nicely furnished, renovated and/or near MRT/Amenities etc then even if you are paying higher than the median its ok.
Because remember there plenty of HDBs in run down conditions that were given in the same original condition that the owner got it 40 years ago. These houses should technically get rented out atleast $300-400 below the median and the nicer ones $300-400 above median

Ours is very close to the MRT / Amenities but when we moved in I would say it was in average condition. However, after 2 years of decoration / renovation by me the owner will definitely benefit after we have gone!

[Nihility]

Private property sale prices... http://www.ura.gov.sg/realEstateIIWeb/t ... rch.action

Dig around and they produce aggregate rent px's too (IIRC, aggregate by individual condo by quarter - or similar)

Thanks for that link! Puts things in perspective for me when negotiating.

[Wd40]

Yes, also you need to take into account that if the house is you are renting is nicely furnished, renovated and/or near MRT/Amenities etc then even if you are paying higher than the median its ok.
Because remember there plenty of HDBs in run down conditions that were given in the same original condition that the owner got it 40 years ago. These houses should technically get rented out atleast $300-400 below the median and the nicer ones $300-400 above median

Ours is very close to the MRT / Amenities but when we moved in I would say it was in average condition. However, after 2 years of decoration / renovation by me the owner will definitely benefit after we have gone!

Next thing to take into account is the house size. Very few people know that 2 bedroom houses come in 3i, 3s, 3NG and 3A. Most houses are the former 3 i.e. 59 or 64SQM and are really tiny especially the living room. Few houses are 3A i.e. 74 sqm and these are pretty decent and I would say bare minimum if you have a family with a kid. So if you are getting the biggest size house in the category close to median rent, pretty good deal.

In my case I was specifically looking for 3A size and in a specific area in Tampines, not close to MRT but in the area we have been staying from since last 2 years. Its near a big wet market, 24 hrs fairprice and there are plenty of doctors, playgroups, schools etc. I actually prefer this area more than MRT. In case of near MRT, for everything you need to enter the malls, which is not only crowded but also takes a while to get there and not much of choice.

In terms of renovation, I prefer simple renovation. Not those jazzy yellow lights and the so called condo style renovations. I like it simple white paint, white tube lights etc. The house we got ticketed all of the above boxes and we got it at median, so pretty happy

[Steve1960]

Yes, also you need to take into account that if the house is you are renting is nicely furnished, renovated and/or near MRT/Amenities etc then even if you are paying higher than the median its ok.
Because remember there plenty of HDBs in run down conditions that were given in the same original condition that the owner got it 40 years ago. These houses should technically get rented out atleast $300-400 below the median and the nicer ones $300-400 above median

Ours is very close to the MRT / Amenities but when we moved in I would say it was in average condition. However, after 2 years of decoration / renovation by me the owner will definitely benefit after we have gone!

Next thing to take into account is the house size. Very few people know that 2 bedroom houses come in 3i, 3s, 3NG and 3A. Most houses are the former 3 i.e. 59 or 64SQM and are really tiny especially the living room. Few houses are 3A i.e. 74 sqm and these are pretty decent and I would say bare minimum if you have a family with a kid. So if you are getting the biggest size house in the category close to median rent, pretty good deal.

In my case I was specifically looking for 3A size and in a specific area in Tampines, not close to MRT but in the area we have been staying from since last 2 years. Its near a big wet market, 24 hrs fairprice and there are plenty of doctors, playgroups, schools etc. I actually prefer this area more than MRT. In case of near MRT, for everything you need to enter the malls, which is not only crowded but also takes a while to get there and not much of choice.

In terms of renovation, I prefer simple renovation. Not those jazzy yellow lights and the so called condo style renovations. I like it simple white paint, white tube lights etc. The house we got ticketed all of the above boxes and we got it at median, so pretty happy

I think we did OK because in our Toa Payoh location we are 5 minutes from wet market, Fair Price, daughters school and MRT / central shops plus 2 minutes from the doctor Fair Price is not 24 hours though.

I agree the housing can be confusing and it's difficult to figure out how to apply the median numbers. I am still not entirely sure I know which rooms to count for say a 4 room apartment.

[rajagainstthemachine]

@WD40 how much are you paying for your unit?

[Wd40]

3 bedroom HDBs come is 4S(100 sqm), 4A(120 sqm, I think) and 5i.
The 5i are actually 3 bedroom but usually corner flats and I think the living room is L shape that leads to dining room and extra room is actually the dining room.

But I agree, 3 bedroom houses have plenty of layout types and they vary a lot by area and age of construction.

[Wd40]

@WD40 how much are you paying for your unit?

$2100 and half month agent fee for 1 yr contract.

[therat]

For 2 bedroom HDB, there is one more type name 3.5 room (floor area 82 sqm) which is the corner unit.

This only can found in mature estate, 20-30 years old HDB.

[Wd40]

You are right. I saw this size in Marine parade, but havent seen in Tampines. So I guess, this size is for 30-40 yr old hdbs

[zzm9980]

3 bedroom HDBs come is 4S(100 sqm), 4A(120 sqm, I think) and 5i.
The 5i are actually 3 bedroom but usually corner flats and I think the living room is L shape that leads to dining room and extra room is actually the dining room.

But I agree, 3 bedroom houses have plenty of layout types and they vary a lot by area and age of construction.

I think 5i is always a corner unit as they're only the towers with 4 unit per floor.

[Wd40]

There are 5i in Pasir Ris with plenty of units on a floor. The concept of corner unit, may not be intuitive in the 1st instance especially foreigners, but locals know this very well. Its basically the corridor completely taken into the house. So you can have 10 houses in a floor and if you have 2 lifts towers serving the block and no interconnectivity between lifts on a floor, you will have 4 corner units plus many non corner units between them.