Rents up for four-bedders in prime locations in Q1

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By FELDA CHAY, The Business Times

LARGER four-bedroom units in prime districts were the only residential unit type to see an increase in rental values in the first quarter of this year, as compared with Q4 last year, according to preliminary estimates from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

According to the property consultancy firm, luxury prime properties saw a marginal 0.7 per cent growth in rental values from the three months before. Rental values for two- and three-bedroom apartments softened from January to March as compared with Q4, though their larger, four-bedroom counterparts saw rental values go up.

JLL's South-east Asia head of research Chua Yang Liang said that the rise in rental values for four-bedroom units stemmed from a mismatch in demand and supply, where there were more smaller units available in these areas, even though demand was high for bigger units.

This trend is recent and is something we noticed nearing the end of last year, said Dr Chua. He expects the supply-demand mismatch to be short-lived as developers come round to meeting demand for larger units.

Jacqueline Wong, head of residential at JLL, said that larger four-bedroom apartments that are at least 2,800 sq ft are favoured by the expatriate community.

'The smaller size units are not particularly attractive as the majority of middle and upper management families relocating prefer spacious four- bedroom units that come with entertainment areas.

'Going forward, we think this trend is likely to sustain and we will continue to see disparity in the housing market where small size leasing stock continues to face downward pressure, while larger units continue to see upside.'

For typical prime, East Coast, and Central regions, rental values remained stable at Q4 levels, said JLL.