Rental Increases?!!?! :(

[starlet x_x]

can anybody advise what is the market rental now for a room in admiralty area (5 room flat)?

[frenzal]

Papers posted an article about private property sale prices going down for the first time in many years. good news rental prices should continue to reflect this

[Ms.Sylvia]

rental have definitely dropped! Yea yea yea!!!

[Ah.Soh]

Can I kindly know what to expect to pay rent for a 4+1 or 3+1 in Garden vista?

[EURO_EXPAT]

It seems this thread had more momentum when rentals were going up than it has now... is it because as rentals come down people become indifferent, disinterested, etc? The more we see posts of lower rental and where to find them the better for tennants. Keep it up, this is a good threat...

Over two years ago I made a prediction that this mad increase in costs cant go on for much longer, well it went on for longer than I had hoped for and has caused so much damage. Those who profited from this invested in more property or in stocks and now see their investement being eroded at a much faster rate than it took to grow it. So, where is the real damage done? those who have to pay those huge costs have less money to spend and those who would normally receive that spent money have to cust costs. But the big sums that went into investments ended up a huge bonuses for CEOs mostly abroad.

What is happening now? all this hype was artificial, everything is collapsing far below to where we should be. Profit at all costs is too costly, it drains the pockets of the ordinary peopleon the streets who keep the economy going.. until it comes to a grinding halt. This crisis now has caused irreparable damage... but... I can see a much more rosier future ahead if certain players have learned their lessons...

[sundaymorningstaple]

I've watched this scenario play out 4 time in the last 25 years here. They never learn but at the same time, they are persistent. They seem to come out on the longer end of the stick more times than not. Sure there are some casualties but it would seem nobody learns any lessons. They just keep making the same mistakes over and over.

[EURO_EXPAT]

hahahahaaa and now they cant even sell their rolexes... sooo funny

[sundaymorningstaple]

But the amazing part is that they are able to buy rolexs in the first place and also tend to keep replacing them later. Soooooo who's having the last laugh here? Those who only aspire to rolex or those who are able to buy them, sell them and buy new ones later? In a country where a couple of years ago, the best selling car for the year was a Mercedes! (okay fluke maybe but at the end of the day, maybe they are doing something right after all).

[AngryAngMo]

My contract expires on the 1st of June...and I just hope they wont increase the price further.
Upon checking the average prices for other units in the same building, they are currently asking for around 2600$, how much is it possible to negotiate down, any experiences?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Do you know what tomorrow will bring? Neither do I.

We can't even predict next week let alone 6 months from now. The government revises it trends weekly. They always having to downgrade the performance with a host of explanations if you've ever noticed. Which only means one thing to me - They should pay their economic advisors more money or replace them as they continually get it wrong!

But that's the point isn't it. We don't have a clue.

[ScoobyDoes]

They might call it softening the blow but the fact is these so called "experts" spouting forth in local papers are not helping when the numbers don't reflect what a lot of sensible people can already see.

It is as clear as the nose on your face that when Toyota makes its first loss in more than 70-years this is not a minor economic glitch. A truely global company with manufacturing facilities all over the world would be one to best take advantage of slow downs and reduced costs from one place to another.

Some people seriously need to be prepared for what 2009 is going to bring and the local press here make it out to be better than it actually will be. It took months for the local press and government to even acknowledge the problem in the first place after the American sub-prime and spouting that SG will not be effected blah, blah.

Could it be that its Christmas and the government don't want to overly worry people? Maybe, but it likewise can lead them to spend more than they will have in a few months when the bills start to come in.



My lease is up at the end of April and i know the landlord wants to move back in. I hope i can squeeze another 6-months or year from him as i still feel that by then the rents will be lower again than in April/May.

[DimWit Kid]

Do you know what tomorrow will bring? Neither do I.

We can't even predict next week let alone 6 months from now. The government revises it trends weekly. They always having to downgrade the performance with a host of explanations if you've ever noticed. Which only means one thing to me - They should pay their economic advisors more money or replace them as they continually get it wrong!

But that's the point isn't it. We don't have a clue.

Nobody can predict with perfect accuracy - there I agree with you.

However at this point I am thinking in line with scooby there... I have always had reservations about all the hypes around real estate (fake) "boom" here. Almost one year ago to the date I almost bought a place and everybody around me (and obviously the agent) was encouraging as they were painting rosy pictures about prices of condo - IR, Jurong redevelopment, an incoming enbloc etc. I finally did not do it as I feel the price is a little above my affordability. Right now, that same place was offered at about 20% less. I do believe the same with rental - they'll only head downwards from here on - at least for the next year or so.

Someone said the rental decline must stop in prime area since there need to be certain differential between prime and suburban - what was forgotten was that once that differential is achieved, the suburban rental will start declining. Futile attempt on "cushioning the blow". Lesson is, don't build house of cards on top of just hype without basis. An economy based on trade and finance can't sustainably grow at 7% yoy without going through severe corrections at times. When an economy like that grows more than 4% for 3 years in a row someone needs to prepare everyone for the trough that's coming - and that's without the global malaise. Can't take the cake and eat it - better save em for rainy days. Now, employment will be limited, and let's see what those same people who said rental will keep increasing since there will be 6 mil people 3 years from now, would say.
If they took the ups with a good understanding about what the up is about and what down will come, then it's all fine. It's just pathetic if one is surprised that the wheel is turning...

Having said that, to be honest, I've lost a lot betting on a high level of oil price during those "good" days (actually it matured last month Bah!). So yeah, who knows what will happen.

[carteki]

What happened to property prices in 2007 was the culmination of a perfect storm - especially in the rental market. The population of SG was increasing, the availability of accomodation was at a premium as people were moving out of blocks that were going to be demolished, but the new accommodation had not yet been completed. In 2008 a number of units came online and this would have - without the global credit crisis - resulted in lower rentals as supply caught up with demand.
I bought at the top of the market in Dec 2007, and am still happy with my decision. The place has a great deal going for it and the area was not overpriced. Even with the bond repayments it still costs me less to "rent from the bank" than to rent where I am staying. Hopefully prices will recover in the next 3/4 years.