The number of vacant private homes in Singapore is steadily rising, climbing 10.3 percent to 21,268 units in Q2 2014 from 19,284 units in the previous quarter, revealed a Savills report.
Notably, the vacancy rate rose to 7.1 percent from 6.6 percent in Q1.
The greater number of empty units on the market comes despite strong leasing demand in Q2, with rental deals reaching a record 15,053 transactions, or a 12.2 percent increase from the quarter before.
According to Savills, the increasing stock of housing units is a contributing factor.
“At the end of Q2 2014, there were 297,998 available private homes across the island, an increase of 1.6 percent from the 293,283 units at the end of March,” the report said.
Most came from completed suburban condominium projects such as The Lakefront Residences on Lakeside Drive (629 units), Foresque Residences on Petir Road (496 units), Waterfront Gold on Bedok Reservoir Road (361 units) and The Greenwich on Seletar Road (319 units).
The central region also saw the completion of several developments, including Silversea on Marine Parade Road (383 units), Sophia Residences on Sophia Road (272 units) and Cyan on Keng Chin Road (278 units).
Looking ahead, Savills forecasts the island-wide vacancy rate will increase further with the impending new supply.
“Some 8,066 new private residential units are expected to be completed by the end of 2014. This could possibly drive the island-wide vacancy rate up to double digits before the year ends,” concluded the consultancy.
Photo by Nikki De Guzman
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
