Singapore’s private residential rental index stood at 152.3 in Q2 2026, down 17.7% from the peak of 185.1 recorded in Q3 2023, according to PropertyNet.SG, which based the reading on Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data to June 2026 combined with its own market outlook estimates. The official URA overall non-landed rental index for the same quarter was 162.5, and URA’s separate quarterly release showed overall rents still rising 0.7% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2026, up from a 0.3% rise the prior quarter.
The correction is not evenly spread. PropertyNet.SG reported that the Q2 2026 gain was carried almost entirely by landed homes and prime districts, while suburban Outside Central Region (OCR) condo rents slipped 0.3% over the same period. Landlords and tenants in the Lentor and Tampines North precincts are the most exposed to the downturn: industry estimates cited by PropertyNet.SG put vacancy in those two planning areas at roughly 7 to 9%, well above the islandwide vacancy rate of 6.4% in Q2 2026 (up from 6.2% the prior quarter). By region, URA data showed vacancy at 8.3% in the Core Central Region, 6.1% in the Rest of Central Region and 5.6% in the OCR.
PropertyNet.SG attributed the Lentor and Tampines North vacancy to concentrated new supply arriving in a short window. The Lentor precinct has absorbed thousands of units across Lentor Modern, Lentor Hills Residences, Lentor Mansion and newer launches that received keys through 2024 and 2025, with more completions still to come. Tampines North is simultaneously absorbing new condo completions and a heavy pipeline of nearby Build-To-Order (BTO) handovers. On the demand side, PropertyNet.SG pointed to more than 20,000 BTO units completing in the preceding year giving local families their own keys instead of renting, the removal of the 15-month wait-out period for private-property owners moving into resale HDB flats effective 28 July 2026, and corporate housing budget cuts that have pushed some expatriate tenants toward cheaper units or out of Singapore altogether.
On yields, PropertyNet.SG reported OCR condos offering roughly 4.0 to 4.5% gross rental yields versus 3.2 to 3.5% in the prime Core Central Region, though it noted the oversupplied suburbs face longer void periods that can erode the higher headline yield. Median transacted rents for two- to three-bedroom private condo units ranged from roughly S$3,700 in the OCR to S$6,200 in the CCR, an estimated 12 to 18% below 2023 peaks, while HDB rents have held up better, softening by around 8%.
Looking ahead, PropertyNet.SG’s research team said landlords in supply-heavy estates such as Lentor and Tampines North should prioritise tenant retention and realistic pricing over aggressive rent hikes through the H2 2026 completion wave, adding that a modest renewal that keeps a paying tenant typically outperforms an empty unit held out for a peak-era rent the current market no longer supports.
