{"id":55048,"date":"2026-05-25T00:28:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T16:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=55048"},"modified":"2026-05-25T00:28:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T16:28:49","slug":"why-singapore-landlords-still-refuse-to-lower-rents-even-when-units-sit-vacant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=55048","title":{"rendered":"Why Singapore Landlords Still Refuse To Lower Rents \u2014 Even When Units Sit Vacant"},"content":{"rendered":"


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What\u2019s different about landlords in Singapore, compared to many different countries? The answer, to me, is the degree of tolerance they have for vacancies. Now this definitely isn\u2019t true for every <\/em>landlord, and it\u2019s anecdotal; but I meet more landlords here who are willing to let a unit go vacant for as long as a year, rather than accept a lower rental rate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s partly why Singapore\u2019s rental market can feel oddly \u201csticky.\u201d Even when the market sentiment weakens, rents don\u2019t necessarily fall very quickly. This is partly due to the strict financing limitations we have, which tend to ensure property buyers are well capitalised: a maximum loan quantum of 75% (of price or value, whichever is lower), the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR), and so on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alternatively, as one of our readers so bluntly told me once: \u201cIf you\u2019re rich enough to have a second property in Singapore, you\u2019re rich enough to keep it vacant.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Most of our landlords are unshakeable with what they consider fair rent; and if you\u2019ve ever been a tenant, you\u2019ll realise how quickly that reality sets in. Most tenants in Singapore are foreigners, who probably aren\u2019t in a position to buy due to the high prices and 60% ABSD. Even if they\u2019re worried about their career prospects due to AI, geopolitics, etc., they really don\u2019t have much of a choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As for Singaporeans waiting on their next home, or who are unable to get a flat yet, they\u2019re often caught in a similarly awkward position.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Delays in construction, divorce proceedings, children\u2019s school arrangements, or simply timing the sale and purchase of homes can all force them into signing a particular lease. Quite often, they don\u2019t have the luxury of time to look around for something more optimal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This may explain some of the contradictions in Savills\u2019 latest Q1 2026 rental report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On paper, leasing activity actually increased in Q1 of this year: residential leasing transactions rose 4% quarter-on-quarter to 20,862 deals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Source: Source URA, Savills Research & Consultancy\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How much shorter? We don\u2019t have the information. But here\u2019s the thing: a higher volume of shorter leases doesn\u2019t always mean strong demand. Instead, it could simply reflect more frequent renewals and renegotiations.<\/p>\n

For example, a tenant may previously have signed a two-year lease because they felt assured of stable employment, or expected to remain in Singapore for the foreseeable future. That would naturally result in fewer lease transactions over time.<\/p>\n

But if the same tenant is now opting for multiple shorter leases instead, leasing \u201cactivity\u201d rises, even though the actual level of housing demand may not have changed very much. In fact, it could suggest the opposite: greater uncertainty about whether they\u2019ll remain here long-term.<\/p>\n

It may also suggest tenants are deliberately keeping their options open. If the rental market softens later, or if economic conditions worsen, they don\u2019t want to be locked into today\u2019s higher rental rates for an extended period.<\/p>\n

So the increase in leasing transactions may not necessarily reflect confidence. It may instead reflect caution, flexibility, and a growing reluctance to commit long-term.<\/p>\n

This also lines up with the broader market behaviour Savills described.\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Whilst leasing transactions increased, vacancy rates outside the CCR edged upward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vacancy rates in the RCR rose to 6.3%, whilst OCR vacancy rates increased to 5.2%. Only the CCR saw improvement, with vacancy dipping slightly to 8.2%.<\/p>\n

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Source: Source URA, Savills Research & Consultancy\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now if rental demand were truly surging, we\u2019d expect vacancy rates to fall dramatically across all the regions. Instead, all we see is a slight reduction in vacancy in the CCR, whilst vacancies in the OCR and RCR actually increased.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This is likely why the experience on the ground feels \u201crelatively subdued,\u201d despite the higher leasing volume. There\u2019s a lot of activity and new leases being signed, but the general attitude points to caution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re a landlord, and your agent looks nervous despite the new lease, this may be the reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, rental rates are still resilient\u00a0<\/h2>\n

As I\u2019ve pointed out, most Singaporean landlords are (in my experience) stubborn. This seems to work especially well in the CCR or other high-rent locations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Savills\u2019 basket of high-end non-landed homes rose 1.7% quarter-on-quarter to $6.15 psf, and this is the <\/em>sixth straight quarter of rental growth. Since the last down market, which was around Q3 2024, rental rates in prime areas have now rebounded by a cumulative 7%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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One reason may simply be that supply growth remains relatively manageable. Only 911 private residential units (excluding ECs) received TOP in Q1 2026, which is almost negligible; it pushes total private housing stock up by just 0.2%.<\/p>\n

This may change going forward however, as we saw a lot of new launches in the CCR<\/a> over 2025; as more of these newer projects are completed, tenants in the CCR may find a greater variety of options.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That aside, demand also remains heavily concentrated in a handful of mega-developments. Normanton Park alone recorded 265 lease contracts in Q1 at a median rent of $6.19 psf, whilst Marina One Residences saw 141 deals at $6.49 psf.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is quite significant as, in earlier years when we first saw mega-devs, competition was a concern. When some of these projects first launched, a common argument against them was that too many competing landlords would suppress rents. The logic was that if hundreds of similar units entered the market at once, landlords would end up competing on price. But in practice, that theory hasn\u2019t played out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Depending on whether this trend continues, it could allay concerns about mega-devs as rental assets in future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In some ways, this brings us back to the peculiar nature of Singapore\u2019s rental market.\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Even when tenants become more cautious, rents still don\u2019t soften easily. That won\u2019t change as long as supply growth remains manageable, and landlords remain well-capitalised.\u00a0 This could also be why the \u201clandlord dream\u201d remains alive despite ABSD, and rising home prices. Singapore\u2019s rental market is remarkably resilient; we rarely see situations where it crashes all at once. Even in the most uncertain times, it tends to just grind sideways for a while.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So far, the stubborn landlords have mostly won and gotten things their way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile in other property news\u2026<\/h2>\n