In 4Q2025, vacancy rates and stock of private homes went down across all market segments, reflecting improved absorption. (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua / EdgeProp Singapore)
Singapore’s leasing market for private residential properties (excluding executive condominiums) was largely resilient in 2025, with median rents in most districts remaining flat or increasing y-o-y, while declines were largely sporadic and confined to specific unit types.
“With completions in 2026 expected to remain broadly similar to 2025 and vacancy rates improving, rents should hold broadly firm in the first half of 2026,” said Alan Cheong, executive director of research and consultancy at Savills Singapore.
The islandwide rental index for private homes went up by a modest 1.9% last year, reversing from the decrease of 1.9% in 2024, the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s latest 4Q2025 real estate statistics showed.
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By district, a few instances of larger rent increases were recorded in District 19 — which includes Hougang, Punggol, Sengkang and Serangoon Garden in the Outside Central Region (OCR) — where rents rose by up to 23% in the 25th percentile for five-bedroom units, according to Savills Research.
District 14 in the OCR saw gains of up to 19% for larger units, and District 21 in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) or city fringe, with rents increasing by 6% to 13% across percentiles and unit sizes.
Weaker pockets were observed in District 22 — which covers Boon Lay, Jurong and Tuas — where smaller units saw rents falling.
For four-bedroom units, the median rent decreased by 4% in District 22 and declined by 16% in District 26. This was possibly due to the limited number of transactions for these larger formats, Savills reckoned. Both districts are located in the OCR or suburbs.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, vacancy rates and stock of private homes (excluding ECs) went down across all market segments in Singapore. This reflects improved absorption despite softer leasing volumes during the year-end holiday period.
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Islandwide, leasing contracts for private residential properties decreased by 27.4% q-o-q in the quarter to 19,771 transactions in 4Q2025, according to URA Realis data retrieved on Jan 27, 2026. Savills attributed the decline to typical year-end seasonality and a slower inflow of expatriates and international students.
Leasing volumes tumbled by 32.6% q-o-q for landed homes and shrank by 27.1% q-o-q for non-landed properties.
Within the non-landed segment, the number of leasing contracts dropped most sharply in the RCR (-28.5%), followed by the OCR (-26.7%) and CCR (-25.8%), on a q-o-q basis.
Non-landed private residential projects with the most leasing transactions in 4Q2025:
As for leasing transactions that commenced in 4Q2025, Normanton Park topped the list for non-landed private homes with the highest number of contracts (197), followed by The Sail @ Marina Bay (147), and Marina One Residences (124). This highlights sustained demand for well-located, established developments, Savills noted.
Compared to a year ago, leasing volumes across Singapore in the fourth quarter dipped marginally by 0.1%, ending six consecutive quarters of y-o-y growth.
On the supply side, a total of 2,018 private residential units obtained their temporary occupation permit (TOP) in 4Q2025, bringing the completed private housing stock to 423,352 units.
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More than half of the new supply was in the RCR, with many units coming from Tembusu Grand at Jalan Tembusu (638 units) and The Landmark at Chin Swee Road (396 units).
The Core Central Region (CCR) made up 25.7% of completions in the quarter, with key projects including Perfect Ten at Bukit Timah Road (230 units) and Jervois Mansion at Jervois Close (130 units).
The remaining 20.5% was located in the OCR, driven by a single major completion: AMO Residence at Ang Mo Kio Rise (372 units).
Major private residential projects completed in 4Q2025:
Despite the new supply, total vacant stock declined by 11.5% q-o-q to 25,570 units in the fourth quarter, resulting in a robust net take-up of 5,027 units — nearly double the previous quarter’s absorption, Savills said.
Consequently, the islandwide vacancy rate fell 0.9 percentage point to 6%, its lowest level since 1Q2023.
Vacancy rates improved across all regions in Singapore. The OCR posted the sharpest q-o-q decline in vacant stock, lowering its vacancy rate to 4.9% in the quarter. The RCR’s vacancy rate fell to 6%.
Meanwhile, the CCR’s vacancy rate improved to 8.8%, although it continued to be the highest among the three regions.
“This pattern points to relatively slower absorption in prime locations amid softer leasing demand, while stronger owner-occupier activity helped offset weaker leasing in the mid- and mass-market segments,” Savills said.
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