Rents for privately held HDB shops more than doubled over the past year

Rates for shop units directly leased out by HDB have mostly held steady

- Wong Yang and Isabelle Liew

Rental rates have more than doubled for privately held HDB shop units, particularly over the past year, while rents for shops directly leased out by HDB have mostly held steady.

Median rentals for heartland shops held by private landlords rose from $3.51 per sq ft (psf) in the second quarter of 2024 to $7.34 psf in the second quarter of 2025.

This is the highest ever rental rate for privately held HDB shops, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Realis data that dates back to 1999.

Meanwhile, shops directly rented out by HDB have seen rents rise at a more gradual rate.

HDB said rents for nine in 10 of such shops have remained largely unchanged over the past five years.

Property analysts and agents attributed the rise in rental rates for privately held HDB shops to increased demand for such units after consumer sentiment improved post-pandemic, even though there are signs that this demand is now moderating.

HDB shop units can either be rented from private owners or the state. The Housing Board said there are about 8,500 privately held HDB shops, while the remaining 7,000 shop units are directly rented out by the Government.

In 1998, the Government stopped selling HDB shop units to private owners, and the board now rents them out directly.

HDB said this gives it the "flexibility to better curate the trade mix of shops" and respond to residents' needs.

The rising rents are squeezing some shops in the HDB heartland, leading them to relocate, downsize or close altogether.

COPING WITH RISING PRIVATE RENTALS

To cope, some business owners have been subletting a part of their HDB shops.

For instance, Mr Ken Seng Guan's bakery chain carved out a roughly 250 sq ft space from its 600 sq ft Pek Kio outlet and has sublet it to various shops over the 10 years it has operated the space - from a bubble tea store to a stationery shop, and now, a hair salon.