Rising rents spur increase in expat moves

MOVING companies which specialise in the relocation of high- and mid-level expatriates are reporting a surge in number of expat families they are helping to move within Singapore.

The majority of these moves are reported to be from upscale districts such as Holland Road, Bukit Timah and Tanglin to cheaper, outlying neighbourhoods.

This downgrading phenomenon started in recent months, they say, as spiralling rents put prime-district living out of reach of some expats.

Rents for apartments in Districts 9, 10 and 11 have skyrocketed by 33 per cent from a year ago on average, according to real estate consultancy Savills.

These three districts refer to areas such as Orchard/Cairnhill, Tanglin/Holland Road and Newton/Bukit Timah respectively.

Since March, moving companies that service the corporate accounts of multinational corporations here have been inundated with expats’ requests for local moves.

At least one firm reported volumes doubling from a year ago.

The expats’ musical chairs, movers say, occur mostly at the end of the month, which is when residential leases usually end.

Singapore’s ‘en bloc frenzy’ has cut the supply of rental apartments in choice districts and caused the rents of still-available apartments to increase.

‘Low vacancy levels coupled with strong demand from overseas staff as well as from tenants and owners displaced from collective sales is expected to translate into rising rents over the short to meidum term,’ said Simon Hill, regional director of residential leasing at Savills.

Source: The Straits Times, 26 July 2007