Condo Rents Up and Vacancy Up: Reading URA's Q3 Data

By Winfred Quek · CEA R073319H · Published 3 November 2026 · Last reviewed November 2026

Facts verified: 2 November 2026 · Sources listed below

A lease is coming up for renewal, or a unit is about to be listed, and the news says two things at once: rents are rising and more homes are empty. Both are true in URA's third quarter data. If you are a landlord, that mix makes it harder to know what number to put on the listing. If you are a tenant, it makes it harder to know how much room there is to talk.

This page sets out what URA reported, why the two figures can move together, how the picture differs by region, and a checklist of questions for each side. It covers private homes only. It does not forecast rents and it does not tell you what rent to ask for or offer. For the earlier quarter, see what URA reported for the second quarter.

What URA reported for the third quarter

URA's release of 3rd Quarter 2026 real estate statistics, dated 23 October 2026, says rentals of private residential properties increased by 1.3%, compared with 0.7% in the previous quarter. Here is the headline set.

Non landed covers condominiums and apartments, so this is the line most condo landlords and tenants will care about. It picked up from 0.4% to 1.2%, while landed rents rose more slowly than in the second quarter. URA reports rent changes as percentages only. The release gives no index level for rentals.

URA also says the 3,559 completions were the highest quarterly total since the third quarter of 2024. The stock of completed private homes (excluding ECs) grew by 3,491 units in the quarter.

Source: URA, Release of 3rd Quarter 2026 real estate statistics, checked 2 November 2026. www.ura.gov.sg/news/media/pr26-73/

Why rents and vacancy can both rise

URA does not explain the link in the release. What follows is one reading of the numbers, not a URA finding, and it could be wrong in the details.

The two figures measure different things. The rent figure tracks how rents moved across the market. The vacancy rate is a snapshot of how many completed homes were empty at the end of the quarter. A quarter with a lot of completions adds homes to the completed stock, and a new home that has not yet found its first tenant may sit in the vacant count while rents on other homes keep moving up.

Scale matters too. A 1.3% move on an assumed rent of $4,000 a month is $52. That is a market wide average over one quarter, not a rent for your unit, and a single quarter is a thin base for a decision. The guide to reading rental data covers why small counts and lags can distort what you see.

The regional split

The national figure hides a mixed picture. URA gives non landed rent changes and vacancy for each region.

Three things stand out. The CCR has the highest vacancy rate, at 8.4%, and was the only region where rents slipped. The Rest of Central Region (RCR) saw the largest rise in vacancy, from 6.1% to 7.4%. And the OCR had the strongest rent move, 3.1%, even though its vacancy rate also rose, from 5.6% to 6.5%.

Look at how far each region swung from the previous quarter: CCR went from up 1.2% to down 0.3%, and the OCR from down 0.3% to up 3.1%. Moves that large in one quarter are a reason to avoid reading a single release as a trend. They are also averages across many projects, so one condo can sit well above or below its region.

Source: URA, Release of 3rd Quarter 2026 real estate statistics, checked 2 November 2026. www.ura.gov.sg/news/media/pr26-73/

What URA says about upcoming supply

Landlords naturally ask how many new homes will compete with theirs. URA's release says that, based on the expected completion dates reported by developers, about 57,200 private housing units are expected to be completed in the coming years. About 22,300 of those (including ECs) are expected by 2028, and about 34,900 from 2029 onwards.

The release does not give separate figures for the fourth quarter of 2026 or for 2027, and it does not split completions by district or project. So the release alone cannot tell you how many homes finish near yours in the next two quarters. The dates are developers' expectations and can move. To read this kind of data properly, see how to read the supply pipeline.

A more useful local question is which projects near your unit are due to complete, and when, and what kind of tenants they are likely to compete for.

A checklist for landlords pricing a renewal or a new lease

These are questions to ask, not instructions. Your numbers and your tenant are specific to you.

• Start from contracts, not the index. URA's Property Market Information portal has a search for private residential rental contracts by project. Pull recent contracts for your own project and compare unit size and lease start dates. A contract shows the rent signed, not what the listing first asked, and recent months can be incomplete.
• Check you are comparing like with like. Floor, size, condition, furnishing and lease length can all differ between two contracts in the same project. Ask what the data shows and what it leaves out before you treat two figures as equal.
• Time the listing. When does the current lease end, and how long is the lead time you need? With vacancy higher, an empty unit has more empty competitors. Ask whether newly completed projects nearby are likely to be competing for the same tenants at the time your unit is free.
• Price the gap, not just the rent. A vacant unit still carries the mortgage, property tax, MCST fees and utilities. The holding cost guide lists what keeps running.
• Compare renewal with re let on total cost. Include the empty weeks, any agent fee, cleaning and touch up, and the risk that a new tenant is a worse fit. The renew or re list framework sets out the comparison.

Here is the arithmetic with assumed figures. Suppose the current rent is $4,000 a month and a re let would leave the unit empty for two months. That is $8,000 of rent not received. If the new tenant then pays $100 a month more, it takes 80 months for the extra rent alone to cover that gap, before any agent fee or repairs. Your own gap, rent and costs will differ, which is why it is worth running the sum with your real figures.

A checklist for tenants negotiating a renewal

This is general information. Rent in Singapore is agreed between landlord and tenant, and the general guide to how rent is agreed points to the official tenancy rules.

• Look up your own project. The same URA contract search is open to tenants. Check what units like yours signed at recently.
• Know your dates. When does the lease end, and what notice does your agreement require? Check the written terms before any conversation about a new rent.
• Add up the cost of moving. Include a new deposit, movers, any overlap between leases and time off work, then compare that total with the rent difference.
• Understand the other side. A landlord weighs an empty period against a rent change. Knowing that helps you see why a renewal offer looks the way it does.
• Put any agreed change in writing. Confirm the rent, the term and anything else that changes, and keep a copy.

What this data cannot tell you

The index is not your unit. It does not set a price for any one home, and a 1.3% market move is not a rule for what a renewal should look like. It covers private homes, so HDB flat rents, which are published separately, are not covered here. The vacancy rate excludes ECs, while the completions figure includes them, so the two do not line up exactly. And it is one quarter. Rent trends can reverse, and this page makes no forecast.

What it does give you is context: rents are not falling across the board, vacancy is higher than a quarter ago, and the answer depends on the region and the project.

Frequently asked questions

Did private rents go up or down in the third quarter?

Up. URA reports that rentals of private residential properties rose 1.3% in 3rd Quarter 2026, after a 0.7% rise in the previous quarter. Non landed rents rose 1.2% and landed rents rose 2.1%.

Why did vacancy rise at the same time as rents?

URA does not explain the link in its release. The rent index tracks rent changes, while the vacancy rate counts completed homes that are empty at the end of the quarter. With 3,559 units completed in the quarter, new homes still looking for a first tenant may be part of the picture. That is a reading of the numbers, not a URA finding.

Does URA give completions for the fourth quarter or for 2027?

Not in this release. URA says about 57,200 private housing units are expected to be completed in the coming years, about 22,300 by 2028 and about 34,900 from 2029 onwards, based on developers' expected completion dates. It does not give separate figures for the fourth quarter of 2026 or for 2027.

Where can I check recent rents for my own project?

URA's Property Market Information portal has a search for private residential rental contracts by project. Recent months can be incomplete, so read the latest figures with care and check what the data does and does not show before treating two contracts as like for like.

Does a 1.3% rise in the index mean my rent should rise by 1.3%?

No. The index describes the market as a whole, and rent for a particular home is agreed between landlord and tenant. Nothing in URA's release sets a rent for one unit, so use it as background and look at contracts for your own project.

Winfred Quek, CEA R073319H, Crestbrick Pte Ltd (L3010886H). General information as at 2 November 2026, not legal, financial, tax or property advice. Figures are from URA's release of 23 October 2026 and may be revised. The worked examples use assumed figures. This page makes no price or rent forecast.