'Who will bite?' 5-room HDB flat in Queenstown asking for $6,500 rent

HDB rents, as we all know, have been climbing up for the last couple of years.

And in yet another indication of the sizzling HDB rental market, one optimistic landlord has decided to ask for what seems quite impossible – a staggering $6,500 rent for a five-room HDB flat in Queenstown. 

A screenshot of the advertisement, which was listed on PropertyGuru on Friday (Oct 28), was posted on Reddit by user Umhihello, who asked fellow Redditors — "Who will bite?" 

According to the listing on PropertyGuru, the five-room HDB unit situated on a high floor is described as "simple" and "tastefully renovated", with unblocked views of the area. 

From the pictures, the unit appears to be nicely renovated and rather well-maintained — a possible reason for the stipulated rent price. 

It's also a five-minute walk to Queenstown MRT station, with a 24-hour supermarket conveniently located nearby. 

Naturally, the hefty asking rent didn't sit well with some Redditors who lamented about its high price. 

One user wasn't that surprised, citing that a "tiny condo in Clementi" would already fetch about $4,000 a month. 

Another Redditor surmised that it makes more sense to buy a flat and pay a good portion of that $6,500 a month for the monthly mortgage.

A quick check by AsiaOne on HDB's website shows that similar 5-room HDB units in the same block were rented out in July and August at $3,800 and $2,850 respectively, a far cry from the $6,500 asking price. 

On the same block, a 5-room HDB unit is currently listed for sale for $1.05 million. 

While it remains to be seen if anyone will take up that $6,500 offer, a four-room HDB flat in Bendemeer was recently rented out for $4,600 — a price that was deemed "record high" by property agent Anne Ho, who posted a TikTok video about it. 

"This is so ridiculous but the owner is so lucky," wrote one TikTok user in response. 

And it looks like these people aren't the only ones feeling the pinch because of high rental prices. 

A mere two weeks ago, Geraldine* was also left flabbergasted when her landlord informed her that he wanted to increase the rent of her five-room flat by 60 per cent. 

Geraldine had been renting the HDB flat in the north of Singapore for the past three years and had renewed their lease just a year ago at the same rate.

She told AsiaOne that her landlord did not provide a reason for the steep increase in rent.  

Left with little option, Geraldine and her husband have been forced to look for other options. 

"We can't continue, I mean when you have a 60 per cent increase, it's such a big jump that you wouldn't even want to consider.

"We tried to negotiate but [the landlord] was very firm, and he even went on to say that if you want a shorter term it will be more expensive."

Also read: 'My landlord is threatening to kick my family out': How high HDB flat rents have created greed and what tenants can do

claudiatan@asiaone.com

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