CAUSE #4: FOREIGNERS RETURN
Demand for rental homes continued to rise as the COVID-19 situation improved and border control measures were relaxed. More foreigners moved to Singapore for work and international students returned, all needing a place to live.
Traditionally, they are attracted to Clementi — one of Singapore’s oldest residential towns — said Sing Tien Foo, the Provost’s Chair Professor in the department of real estate at the National University of Singapore’s Business School.
It is close to tertiary institutions and to the city centre, he added. “So the supply is always constrained.”
Last year, the median monthly rental for a four-room flat in Clementi was about S$3,200, up from S$2,400 in 2021, according to Sing.
The biggest increase in rents has been in traditionally remoter areas like Woodlands and Sembawang — fuelled in part by Malaysian workers who like to live closer to Johor Bahru, said Sing.
Sembawang saw a 62 per cent increase in the median rent, while Woodlands saw a 58 per cent increase.