Several friends have been asking house rental in Singapore recently. I have been passing this piece around, until I realized it makes sense to put it up here as well.
I moved to this city one year ago, have gone apartment hunting twice, met over 20 agents, saw well over 30 HDB/Condos all over Singapura.
Singapore is literally a city-state, public transportation is pretty well developed. Cars are expensive, so most expats chose to take cab (cheap if you are from places like London, Tokyo, US etc.), or MRT. Buses are fine too, but takes longer than MRT and usually have to wait. I have friends taking buses to work everyday, guess I just never get used to that.
If you are looking for a studio or apartment, you can search on this site:
propertyguru.com.sg
A studio at central places usually cost 2200SGD and up. I’ve seen really nice ones in Robertson Quay at 2500sdg and Dhoby Ghaut at 2200sgd.
If you are looking for a room, try:
easyroommate.com
A master bedroom at a nicely located area usually cost 1000 and up.
If looking at the city by MRT, I wouldn’t go farther than these places —
North – Bishan
South – Harborfront
East – Aljunit
West – Queenstown
Of course, that really depends on where your office is or what transportation you will be using. If your office is far to the west or east, you can consider yourself lucky, coz you will be able to get really nice condos at a reasonable price, which will cost you at least 50% more in downtown area.
If you want to trade convinience for cost-effective housing, you will be able to find nicely decor, comfortable condos in areas far from MRT or few buses go to at a decent price. I have friend renting a studio in river valley at 1600 -1800 sgd, he takes cab to work everyday. I’ve also seen few new condos with the cutest swimming pool in tanjong rhu at 2400 to 2800sgd. But there is only a shuttle goes to CBD, 4sgd one way. A cab ride can cost you 15 – 20up during rush hours or mid-night, because of the crazy surcharges.
Popular (and $$$$) places are Orchard/somerset, ClarkeQuay, Robertson Quay, Dhoby Ghaut. Tiong Bahru, Outram Park.City Hall. Bugis.
Agents:
In Singapore, agents are mostly signed with a certain housing agency, but they acted more like independent agencies: each have their own sources, post ads online. Some agents will be driving you for house viewing, some are really nice that will pick you up and drop you off after the viewing. Most of them should have a car, so don’t be shy to ask for a ride if the place is far or hard to find.
You can stick with an agent if you really feel you can trust him/her. But most people go around talking to different agents. Make sure you let them know your specific requirements, esp location-wise, otherwise you will end up wasting hours on viewing houses that you will never consider. If an agent disappointed you once even after having given a detailed requirement, dump him/her.
[To be continued]
