Expat housing here 2.7% pricier this year

-

Average cost of relocating staff to Singapore has increased to US$5,510 per month - 3rd highest in Asia

The Straits Times
January 30, 2013

THE average cost of relocating staff to Singapore has increased 2.7 per cent to average US$5,510 per month this year - third highest in Asia and eighth globally.

Taking currency fluctuation into account, however, the cost of renting an apartment in Singapore in US dollars has fallen slightly, said Lee Quane, regional director, ECA International, Asia.

"(In US dollars), we actually observe a small decrease in rental price. This contrasts strongly with a year ago when the US dollar was a lot weaker against the Singapore dollar," said Mr Quane, noting that in 2011, rents increased more than 15 per cent once converted into the greenback.

According to data from the human resources consultancy - which uses rental prices of three-bedroom apartments in areas commonly inhabited by expatriates as the benchmark comparison - rents for an unfurnished three-bedroom apartment in Districts 9-11 and East Coast average US$5,510 per month, 50 per cent higher than the regional average.

Companies are managing the increase in costs by expanding the locations in which they expect employees to reside, and scaling back on accommodation packages for certain employees, said Mr Quane.

"Ten years ago, we'd primarily be focusing on Districts 9,10,11 because that's where about 80-90 per cent of international assignees lived. However, as accommodation costs have increased, companies have not necessarily increased their housing budget in line with rental values."

So employees who want to continue to enjoy the same standard of accommodations have had to look outside of the core central region, to East Coast and even Woodlands, he said.

Looking ahead, Mr Quane said he does not expect rents to increase more than 5 per cent this year.

"Companies have not been moving staff into Singapore at the high rates we saw previously. So that's going to have an impact in terms of demand . . . (And while) we're not seeing Singapore catch up with Hong Kong in terms of accommodation costs, accommodation costs in Singapore are much higher than they were a few years ago. So several of the cost advantages that companies had relocating staff here have disappeared."

The average cost of renting a three-bedroom apartment in Asia rose one per cent year-on-year to US$3,640 per month. This figure is 20 per cent higher than the global average of US$3,030 per month, which slipped one per cent year-on-year.

Within Asia, the biggest rental price increases in the region were witnessed in mainland China; the most pronounced increase was seen in Beijing, ranked 19th globally (up from 26th last year) following a year-on-year increase of over 12 per cent.

Rents for a three-bedroom apartment in Hong Kong, the most expensive location in the world, averaged US$11,550 per month, despite a 2-3 per cent correction.


Martin Koh | 86666 944 | R020968Z
Sherry Tang | 9844 4400 | R020241C
Senior Sales Director
Email: marshe_inc@yahoo.com.sg
DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) Pte Ltd (L3006301G)

| www.marshe.sg | www.marsheproperties.com.sg | www.hudcsg.blogspot.com |
| www.hausatserangoon.sg | www.8riversuites.com | www.newagents.sg |

Popular posts from this blog

Pines Club to be redeveloped

-
Image
The Straits Times  |  MARCH 22, 2013 The Pines Club in Stevens Road will be made over into a hotel and commercial development in an ambitious redevelopment plan. A unit of developer Oxley Holdings has agreed to buy the 18,477 sq m estate for $318 million on a 103-year lease. Oxley has obtained provisional permission to develop two blocks of eight-storey hotels, two blocks of two-storey commercial buildings and a four-storey clubhouse with a basement on the site, according to a company statement to the Singapore Exchange. The club's facilities will be integrated into the new complex. Motoring tycoon Peter Kwee told The Straits Times that club members will be offered places at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club in Changi during the interim construction period. He owns both clubs. Members will be able to use the Stevens Road clubhouse facilities after the redevelopment, estimated to take between two and three years. Talk about the estate's ma
Read more

7 BTO projects launched, BTO supply in 2012 a record

-
Image
SINGAPORE: HDB launched seven Build-To-Order (BTO) projects on Wednesday, offering 6,463 new flats in two non-mature towns (Choa Chu Kang and Sengkang) and three mature towns (Bedok, Queenstown and Toa Payoh). With this launch, the total BTO flat supply in 2012 will reach 27,084 units. This will be the largest BTO supply in a year since the BTO system was introduced in 2002. Together with another 7,153 balance flats offered earlier in the March and September 2012 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises, HDB has launched a total of 34,237 new flats in 2012. In January 2013, HDB will offer about 3,320 BTO flats in Ang Mo Kio, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Kallang Whampoa, Tampines and Yishun. HDB is planning for at least 20,000 BTO flats in 2013. First-timers will continue to enjoy priority flat allocation with at least 95% and 85% of the BTO flat supply (excluding Studio Apartments) set aside for them in mature towns and non-mature towns respectively. The Multi-Gener
Read more

Former Bt Timah Turf Club may become private estate: analyst

-
Image
Channelnewsasia.com | Posted: 13 February 2013 2007 hrs SINGAPORE: Property analysts said the former Bukit Timah Turf Club area will probably be redeveloped into a private residential estate, consisting of a mix of landed properties and condominiums. The government is setting aside this piece of land for residential use as part of the recently-released Land Use Plan. The Grandstand is an establishment that sits on the former Bukit Timah Turf Club. The new family lifestyle development was set up just last year. But in five years' time, it may no longer be around. The lease expires in 2018 and housing redevelopment is expected to begin then. Analysts believe the lease may not be extended. Nicholas Mak, executive director of research and consultancy at SLP International said: "If any of these operators have plans to upgrade or to renovate their premises, I think they have to take into consideration that they probably have only about five years left to
Read more