Singapore’s landlords have jacked up rents by more than half over the past two years. They may be able to squeeze out a few more quarters of increases before enough new supply gives tenants a semblance of bargaining power. But this isn’t the end of “greedflation” in the Asian financial center. High energy costs may be here to stay even after the city’s dwelling crunch has eased.
The clues are in the stock market. Investors’ love affair with landlords is waning after a bumper performance. Compared with a year earlier, serviced-residence operator CapitaLand Ascott Trust garnered 178% higher revenue per available unit from one of its Singapore properties in the final quarter of 2022, thanks to the island-state’s rapid post-pandemic reopening and a strong influx of expatriate bankers and other professionals. But the real-estate fervor is peaking: For the first time since early 2020, private housing prices declined by 0.4% last quarter.
