Savills Singapore revealed that private residential leasing activity in Singapore rose for the second consecutive quarter in Q2/2025 – a 2.8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase, building on the 4.9% gain in Q1.

The growth was driven by the non-landed segment, which registered the bulk of transactions, and was led by the Outside of Central Region (OCR) with a 4.1% QoQ increase. This was followed by the Core Central Region (CCR) and Rest of Central Region (RCR) with QoQ increases of 3.0% and 2.2%, respectively, as tenants sought a wider range of options across the island.

Overall growth in the non-landed segment was partially offset by a 2.0% QoQ decline in landed home leasing, which has contracted for three consecutive quarters since Q4/2024, although the pace of decline remained modest in the first half of 2025.

Despite stronger leasing volumes, vacant stock rose 10.5% QoQ in Q2/2025, pushing the island-wide vacancy rate from 6.5% in Q1 to 7.1% in Q2. More than 60% of the increase in vacant stock was in the OCR, followed by the RCR at 24.9% and CCR at 14.8%, due to many new completions since Q3/2024 being slow to lease, and a degree of tenant migration toward newer, more central projects. As of June 2025, about 21.3% of total units in non-landed developments completed since Q3/2024 had been leased.

New entrant Irwell Hill Residences led activity with 169 contracts which commenced in Q2/2025, followed by perennial top performer The Sail @ Marina Bay (139), Normanton Park (115), Marina One Residences (113) and One Pearl Bank (110) (See Table 1).

In the high-end market, Savills’ proprietary basket of high-end condominiums recorded a 0.7% QoQ increase in average monthly rents to S$5.99 per sq ft.

“Notwithstanding business uncertainties, rents are holding up because newly completed and let-out apartments carry a premium over the rest,” said Alan Cheong, Executive Director of Research and Consultancy at Savills Singapore. “Unless uncertainty levels rise sharply, we do not expect rents to fall much because the higher property taxes landlords now have to pay will make them hold out longer for their asking rent. Also, inflationary pressures are driving up conservancy charges, giving landlords another reason not to give in to low ball rental offers.”

Savills expects overall private residential rents to remain broadly flat for 2025, supported by the rental premium of newer units and cost considerations for landlords. However, downward pressure is more likely to appear in one- and two-bedroom types as additional small-unit supply comes online, while larger five-bedroom units may also face softness as tenant budgets adjust.

Read the report here.