Build-to-rent homes could appeal to young Singaporeans, but can rent be kept under $2,000?

The Government is exploring build-to-rent options that could make renting more affordable.

Published Nov 02, 2026, 05:00 AM

Updated Nov 02, 2026, 05:00 AM

SINGAPORE – Young Singaporeans who want their own space but cannot afford several thousand dollars a month in rent could one day find a more affordable alternative in build-to-rent housing.

This could look like smaller, purpose-built apartments with basic facilities, developed by either private developers or public agencies.

The challenge is keeping rents low enough so young people can still save enough to buy their first property.

Currently, the most affordable rental options for those who cannot or do not want to buy their own homes are an HDB room for about $1,000 a month, or $2,000 to $3,000 a month for an entire flat.

But the Government is exploring build-to-rent options that could make renting more affordable.

“While home ownership remains a key tenet of Singapore’s social compact, there is demand for more flexible accommodation among younger Singaporeans who may want to rent for a period before buying their own homes,” National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said in August .

This would allow them to experience independent living before buying a home, and add diversity to Singapore’s housing market, he added.

OCBC Bank’s head of wealth advisory Chez Anbu estimated that a sustainable monthly rent for young Singaporeans who plan to buy a home later in life would be $1,200 to $1,800 a month.

This is based on a commonly used benchmark of keeping housing costs within 25% to 30% of gross monthly income, he said.

He added that young people saving to buy a home should treat this benchmark as a “ceiling rather than a target”.

Rent should not prevent them from maintaining an emergency fund and continuing to save more than 20% of take-home income towards longer-term goals, such as buying a home or retirement, he said.

In 2025 , the median monthly salary for full-time employed residents aged between 25 and 29 years was $4,680 for a male employee and $5,070 for a female employee, while that for those aged between 30 and 34 was $6,338 for a male worker and $6,335 for a female worker. For someone earning $5,000 a month, this translates to about $1,500 in rent.

Savills, however, put the potential market rent for a build-to-rent studio at $1,800 to $2,500, while a construction industry veteran said that private developers would struggle to charge less than $2,000 a month because of high land costs.

With much of Singapore’s public housing stock designed for families – three-, four- and five-room units make up the bulk of flats – singles wanting to live alone may find an entire unit too expensive, said Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property firm Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group.

Condominium rentals are even higher, she added.

In the first half of 2026, median monthly rents ranged from $3,300 for a one-bedroom condo unit to $5,500 for a three-bedroom unit, according to data compiled by Realion Research.

What could build-to-rent look like?

Unlike Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, private build-to-rent models overseas comprise apartments designed and built for rental only.

Such developments are typically run by professional operators and no units are ever sold, said Emily Fell, senior director of living sectors, Asia-Pacific capital markets at Savills.

This model differs from co-living, which typically consists of studio rooms with shared kitchens and living spaces, taken on shorter stays.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) did not say if build-to-rent is likely to be handled by the public or private sector. Its spokesman said private long-stay serviced apartments , which were introduced in 2023, are one form of build-to-rent housing.

Since December 2023, two government land sales sites allowing for such developments have been awarded.

Another 21 applications to build such projects on private land have been approved, with more in the pipeline.

The ministry added that it has been monitoring developments in Singapore and overseas to better understand the role that build-to-rent models play in meeting different housing needs.

This includes learning from the market expertise of industry players, it added.

Fell said build-to-rent models could fill a gap for young people “who want their own front door, kitchen and some privacy” but find renting on the open market too expensive.

She envisaged build-to-rent in Singapore to include mainly studios and one-bedders of 350 sq ft to 550 sq ft, with some two-bedder units for friends or young couples.

Unison Construction’s contracts director, Goh Boo Kui, does not think a private developer could construct a build-to-rent project and rent out each unit for less than $2,000 a month under current cost conditions.

He said land cost is the main obstacle.

Unison has been the main contractor for several private residential projects, including Amber Park, 19 Nassim, Meyer House and Meyer Blue.

Today, a condo unit would cost around $400 per sq ft to build, with a small self-contained unit with a kitchen and toilet requiring around 400 sq ft, said Goh.

That is before other expenses such as financing and interest, marketing and property agent fees are taken into account.

Fell also identified land cost as a key obstacle.

Property developers recover their capital through unit sales within three to five years, she noted. In contrast, capital remains tied up in a build-to-rent development. Returns come from rental income – after deducting operating costs – over 10 years or more, she added.

To make build-to-rent more affordable, a different approach to land pricing may be required – for example, pricing government sites on rental value or shorter leases, said Fell.

Alternatively, HDB could build the homes and appoint a private operator to run them, Goh suggested. He estimated basic HDB construction costs to be between $220 psf and $230 psf, which could make rents below $2,000 more achievable.

“Build-to-rent is in the national interest. If the purpose is for transition, rent should be kept as low as possible, and it has to be built by the Government,” said Goh.

Fell also cited London’s East Village, the former Olympic athletes’ village that was converted into a large build-to-rent neighbourhood, as one possible model for Singapore.

“The state controlled the land, set the planning terms, and brought in long-term institutional owners to deliver rental housing at scale, including a share of discounted units,” said Fell.

“The shared lesson is that affordable build-to-rent doesn’t happen through the market alone. It happens when the government sets the terms for land and tenure.”

The price of independence

Even if build-to-rent can be delivered within the affordable range, a seemingly manageable monthly rent can add up substantially if a young person rents for several years, said experts.

Anbu calculated that $1,500 in monthly rent amounts to $54,000 over three years and $90,000 over five years.

“Compared with living at home and contributing $500 a month to family expenses, renting at $1,500 a month could leave a young person with about $60,000 less in savings after five years,” said Anbu.

However, he also said that the decision should not be viewed purely in financial terms.

“Living independently can provide valuable benefits, including privacy, autonomy, greater personal responsibility and the opportunity to develop household and budgeting skills,” said Anbu.

“The challenge is to find a way to enjoy the benefits of independence without compromising basic financial resilience or materially derailing the longer-term goal of home ownership.”

Residential property

政府正在探索建造出租房屋的方案，以降低租房成本。

发布于 2026 年 11 月 2 日 上午 5:00

更新于2026年11月2日 上午5:00

新加坡——想要拥有自己的空间但又负担不起每月数千美元租金的新加坡年轻人，或许有一天能在“先建后租”的住房模式中找到更经济实惠的选择。

这可能看起来像是由私人开发商或公共机构开发的，规模较小、设施基本的专用公寓。

挑战在于如何保持租金足够低，以便年轻人仍然能够攒够钱购买他们的第一套房产。

目前，对于那些不能或不想购买自己房屋的人来说，最经济实惠的租房选择是每月租金约 1000 美元的组屋房间，或者每月租金 2000 至 3000 美元的整套组屋。

但政府正在探索建造出租房的方案，这可以使租房更加经济实惠。

“虽然拥有住房仍然是新加坡社会契约的一项重要原则，但年轻的新加坡人对更灵活的住宿方式有需求，他们可能希望在购买自己的房屋之前租房一段时间，”国家发展部长徐芳达在8月份表示。

他补充说，这将使他们能够在购房前体验独立生活，并为新加坡的住房市场增添多样性。

华侨银行财富咨询主管Chez Anbu估计，对于计划将来买房的年轻新加坡人来说，可持续的月租金为1200至1800美元。

他说，这是基于一个常用的基准，即把住房成本控制在每月总收入的 25% 到 30% 之间。

他还补充说，年轻人攒钱买房应该把这个基准视为“上限而不是目标”。

他表示，租金不应该阻止他们维持应急基金，也不应该阻止他们将超过 20% 的税后收入储蓄起来，用于购买房屋或退休等长期目标。

2025年，25至29岁全职居民的月薪中位数，男性为4,680美元，女性为5,070美元；30至34岁居民的月薪中位数，男性为6,338美元，女性为6,335美元。对于月收入5,000美元的人来说，这意味着大约需要支付1,500美元的房租。

然而，Savills 认为，新建出租公寓的潜在市场租金为 1800 美元至 2500 美元，而一位建筑业资深人士表示，由于土地成本高昂，私人开发商很难将租金控制在每月 2000 美元以下。

Realion（OrangeTee & ETC）集团首席研究员兼策略师 Christine Sun 表示，新加坡的大部分公共住房都是为家庭设计的——三房式、四房式和五房式单位占组屋的大部分——因此，想要独居的单身人士可能会发现整套住房太贵了。

她补充说，公寓租金甚至更高。

根据 Realion Research 汇编的数据，2026 年上半年，每月租金中位数从一居室公寓的 3300 美元到三居室公寓的 5500 美元不等。

建造出租模式会是什么样子？

与预购组屋（BTO）不同，海外的私人租赁组屋模式是指专门为出租而设计和建造的公寓。

第一太平戴维斯亚太资本市场住宅部门高级总监艾米丽·费尔表示，此类开发项目通常由专业运营商运营，而且不会出售任何单元。

这种模式与合租不同，合租通常指带有共享厨房和起居空间的单间公寓，租期较短。

国家发展部并未说明“先建后租”项目将由公共部门还是私营部门负责。其发言人表示，2023年推出的私人长期服务式公寓是“先建后租”住房的一种形式。

自 2023 年 12 月以来，已授予两块允许此类开发的政府土地出售用地。

另有 21 项在私人土地上建设此类项目的申请已获批准，还有更多申请正在审批中。

该部门补充说，他们一直在关注新加坡和海外的发展情况，以便更好地了解先建后租模式在满足不同住房需求方面所发挥的作用。

报告还补充说，这包括向行业参与者学习市场专业知识。

费尔表示，建造出租模式可以填补年轻人的市场空白，“他们想要自己的前门、厨房和一些隐私”，但发现公开市场上的租金太贵。

她设想在新加坡建造出租房主要包括面积为 350 平方英尺至 550 平方英尺的单间公寓和一居室公寓，以及一些供朋友或年轻夫妇居住的两居室单元。

Unison Construction 的合同总监 Goh Boo Kui 认为，在目前的成本条件下，私人开发商不可能建造一个出租型住宅项目，并将每个单元的月租金低于 2000 美元。

他表示，土地成本是主要障碍。

Unison 曾是多个私人住宅项目的主要承包商，包括 Amber Park、19 Nassim、Meyer House 和 Meyer Blue。

Goh表示，如今建造一套公寓单元的成本约为每平方英尺400美元，而一个带厨房和卫生间的小型独立单元大约需要400平方英尺。

这还不包括融资和利息、营销和房地产经纪人费用等其他支出。

费尔还指出土地成本是一个关键障碍。

她指出，房地产开发商通常可以通过出售房产在三到五年内收回投资。相比之下，在“建后出租”项目中，资金则会长期被占用。她补充说，收益来自于扣除运营成本后的租金收入，通常需要十年或更长时间。

费尔表示，为了使“建房出租”模式更加经济实惠，可能需要采取不同的土地定价方法——例如，根据租金价值或较短的租赁期限对政府用地进行定价。

吴先生建议，另一种方案是建屋发展局（HDB）可以建造房屋，然后委托私人运营商进行运营。他估计，建屋发展局的基本建筑成本在每平方英尺220至230新元之间，这样一来，低于2000新元的租金就更容易实现了。

“建造出租住房符合国家利益。如果目的是为了过渡，租金应该尽可能低，而且必须由政府建造，”吴作栋说。

费尔还提到伦敦东村，这个曾经的奥运运动员村被改造成了一个大型的租赁住宅区，作为新加坡的一个可能模式。

费尔说：“州政府控制了土地，制定了规划条款，并引入了长期机构业主，大规模提供租赁住房，其中包括一部分折扣住房。”

“我们从中得到的共同教训是，经济适用型出租住宅并非仅靠市场就能实现。它还需要政府设定土地和产权条件。”

独立的代价

专家表示，即使建造出租房的价格在可承受范围内，但看似可以承受的月租金，如果年轻人租房几年，累积起来也是一笔不小的开支。

安布计算得出，每月 1500 美元的租金，三年下来就是 54000 美元，五年下来就是 90000 美元。

安布表示：“与住在家里每月支付 500 美元家庭开支相比，每月租房 1500 美元可能会让一个年轻人五年后少存下大约 6 万美元。”

然而，他也表示，不应仅仅从经济角度来看待这一决定。

安布表示：“独立生活可以带来诸多益处，包括隐私、自主权、更大的个人责任感以及培养家务和预算技能的机会。”

“挑战在于如何既享受独立带来的好处，又不损害基本的财务韧性，也不会严重阻碍拥有住房的长期目标。”

住宅物业