Every single quarter, it’s the same story: Singapore rents just refuse to come down. Private residential rents climbed 0.7% in Q2, more than double the 0.3% pace in Q1. Landed homes led the charge, jumping 2.7%—the strongest showing since Q3 2024. Non-landed units? More like a slow-moving traffic jam on the CTE, inching up just 0.4% for the third straight quarter. Overall, rents sit 1.7% higher than a year ago. HDB flats aren’t sitting still either, up 0.4% quarterly and 1.5% for the year.
Rents refuse to quit: private up 0.7% in Q2, landed homes surging 2.7%—the strongest since Q3 2024.
Here’s the twist: vacancy actually rose to 6.4%, yet rents kept climbing anyway. Sounds contradictory, right? But think of it like a hawker centre during lunch rush—some stalls have empty tables, but the popular ones still have a queue snaking around the corner. That’s exactly what’s happening.
Completions fell 23.2% quarter-on-quarter, only 700 units versus 911 previously. Fewer new units means less competition for tenants, even with more empty flats sitting around.
Only 1,212 private homes were completed in Q2. H2 2026 is expected to bring 5,012 more—roughly half the usual two-year average. That’s a real supply crunch. Private home supply is expected to climb from 5,249 units in 2025 to 7,006 units in 2026. Things loosen up in 2027 and 2028, though, with 8,440 and 9,856 units respectively expected to land, mostly in RCR and OCR areas.
Prices, meanwhile, are cooling like a bowl of laksa left out too long. Private home prices rose just 0.5% in Q2, and H1 growth slowed to 1.0% from 1.2% a year back. Resale volumes, though, jumped 18.2% to 3,813 units—buyers are still active, just pickier.
On the HDB side, competition’s heating up. Around 13,480 flats will hit MOP in 2026, nearly double last year’s figure. More landlords entering the market means tenants have more bargaining chips—like extra hawker stalls opening up during peak hour. Even so, million-dollar HDB resale deals hit a record 491 units in Q2, up sharply from the previous quarter. Adding further context to the supply picture, 13,500 flats reaching MOP in 2026 could meaningfully alter the rental balance in public housing, particularly in well-located towns that have historically drawn strong renter interest.
Realion forecasts 2%-3% private rental growth for 2026, with HDB rents rising 1%-3%. Foreign talent inflows should cushion demand, but global uncertainty and cautious hiring remain real headwinds. Bottom line: rents aren’t crashing anytime soon, but the runway’s getting bumpier.
