Singapore emerged as the world’s fifth most expensive place to rent a home based on available property listings, according to research done by UK-based property portal, Nested.
On average, rental cost here stands at £2.68 (S$4.73) psf, monthly rent for an individual amounts to around £1,125 (S$1,985), while that for a family cost £2,134 (S$3,766). This means a person needs to earn £46,542 (S$82,127) per annum to meet his rental cost, whereas a household requires an income of £88,310 (S$155,830).
Meanwhile, San Francisco clinched the top spot in the property portal’s latest Rental Affordability Index, followed by New York, Hong Kong and Dubai. The four cities have average rental cost ranging from £3.98 to £2.83.
In the Californian city, average rent for a person amounts to £1,670, while a family needs to spend £3,168 per month for a roof above their heads. Based on Nested’s calculations, a single individual there requires a yearly salary of £69,087, whereas a household should have an annual income of £131,087 to meet their rental cost.
Singapore’s neighbour Hong Kong has an average rental cost of £3.08 psf, monthly rent for an individual amounts to £1,292, while that for a family cost £2,452. Nested estimated that a person needs to earn £53,481 per annum to meet his rental cost, whereas a household requires £101,477 in annual income.
The psf rental price was calculated based on current market listings across 72 cities worldwide. Nested also used the Greater London Authority’s guidelines for the minimum space recommended for a person (420 sq ft) and a family of four (797 sq ft).
To compute the minimum gross salary, Nested took into account Loughborough University Institutional Repository’s view that not more than 29 percent of one’s gross salary should be spent on rent per month.
Christopher Chitty, Senior Content Specialist, edited this story
