To better meet the rental demand, a new class of serviced apartment will be introduced soon with a minimum stay requirement of at least three month.

In early December, the Government Land Sales programme (GLS), which is the confirmed list of private residential housing in the second half this year, will be launching the new category on two state-owned land sites.

These sites, Upper Thomson Road & Zion Road will have a portion of their gross floor area set aside as long-stay serviced apartment, with an estimated total yield of 535 units.

The new serviced long-stay apartments are not strata-subdivided and sold like existing serviced apartment which has a minimum seven-day stay.

The pilot program will allow the government to assess market demand and determine if this product category should be made available more widely.

Some Singaporeans have told us they are willing to rent, even though the majority still want to own a home.

The “healthy supply of rental housing” is important for those in Singapore who have to rent a home, or are waiting to get the keys to a new house, or who want to study, work, and live there.

Blossoms by the Park

This new category of serviced apartment will be geared towards those who are looking for longer-term accommodation, as they won’t have to compete against tourists or business travellers, who may prefer shorter-term apartments.

Market watchers believe that removing these renters from the residential market would also reduce the rents charged by private landlords.

These serviced apartments fill a market gap, as most landlords on the rental market prefer to sign a two-year contract.

Developers who want to build and then sell may also have to change their business model. The developers will either have to manage the serviced apartment or work with an operator. The top bidder for GLS sites may not be affected.

Singapore’s residential rents have increased in the last two years due to a tight supply and high demand. Analysts noted that the market had finally eased with signs of stabilisation and lower prices.

SRX’s and 99.co’s flash estimates showed that private rents were down 0.2 percent in October. Rents in public housing fell by 0.4 percent, their first drop since 2021.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority reported that the rental growth on the private residential market in 2023 had slowed to 0.8% from 2.8% in the previous quarter.

The number of private homes completed reached a record high of 9,013, which is the highest quarter-end supply since Q2 of 2016. The number of units completed for the first quarter of 2023 is 17,199, which is three times the amount of last year’s same period.

URA expects to complete around 20,400 private homes this year. This is the highest annual completion rate since 2017.