Hong Kong’s luxury home rents rose 1 per cent in the third quarter from the previous three-month period, while Singapore’s slipped by 1.7 per cent, highlighting the contrasting fortunes of Asia’s rival business hubs, Knight Frank said.
The increase in Hong Kong rents was partly attributed to government measures aimed at attracting more foreign talent to the city, while Singapore has begun to address its sizzling hot rents that began rising during the coronavirus pandemic, the property consultancy said in its latest report.
Singapore was, however, behind only Sydney among the 10 cities that Knight Frank tracked in terms of annual rental changes. Rents in the Lion City increased by 14.5 per cent in the last 12 months, while Hong Kong ranked 10th with a mere 1.6 per cent increment in the same period, Knight Frank said.
Singapore is one of three stand-out markets where rents have surged tremendously since 2021, the report said. While rents have risen by a cumulative 50.3 per cent in Singapore, they have increased by 55.2 per cent in London and 53.4 per cent in New York, respectively, in this period.
“Over the past two years, Singapore’s rental market has witnessed unprecedented surges, setting records,” said Christine Li, head of research, Asia-Pacific at Knight Frank. “The higher rental rates are currently undergoing a normalisation phase against the backdrop of slower economic growth.
“In Hong Kong, the reset of rental prices occurred earlier, and the market is now striving to achieve equilibrium, with increasing demand surpassing available supply.”
