Private residential properties are pictured as storm clouds gather in Singapore on May 3, 2023. Rents for private properties in Singapore increased about 30% last year, says real estate consultant Knight Frank. – ReuterspicCompanies in Singapore are partially paying housing costs of employees and even relocating staff to cheaper neighbouring cities to help them tackle home rents that rose last year at their fastest rate in 15 years.
“We are weighing our options ... whether the inflated price tag now is really worth the edge Singapore has over its neighbours,” said Lee Soo Min, a business development executive at a digital advertising firm who saw a 70% jump in her monthly rentals and is examining relocating to another Asian city.
James Ong, an assistant product engineer from Malaysia employed in an aviation company receives an additional S$70 a month in rent support from his firm but that barely covers the 50% increase in his monthly rent to S$4,000. In response to Reuters’ queries, the government acknowledged “significant concern” about rental trends that it said are “comparable to major cities”. But the national development ministry and the economic development board said in a joint statement that prices should fall as more homes are built.
Sachet Sethi, a senior manager at recruitment firm Robert Walters, said even those in management roles are finding it difficult to cope with costs. An executive managing a team of 100 engineers for a tech firm in Singapore said he is considering starting a satellite office in Penang, Malaysia, so that they can retain talent.