Debated in Parliament on 10 Sep 2012.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for National Development for each year from 2006 to 2011 and for each of the HDB town regions (a) how many commercial premises are owned by (i) HDB; (ii) Singaporeans/Singaporean-owned companies; and (iii) PRs and foreigners/foreign-owned companies; (b) what is the average rental per square foot for HDB shops owned by (i) HDB; (ii) Singaporeans/Singaporean-owned companies; and (iii) PRs and foreigners/foreign-owned companies; (c) whether foreign and private ownership of HDB commercial premises has led to rising rentals; and (d) what is the Ministry doing to contain rentals of HDB commercial premises so as to keep costs down for small businesses operating in these premises.
HDB manages about 5,900 rental and 8,700 sold shops. HDB owns all the rental shops, while Singaporeans and Singaporean-owned companies own about 95% of the sold shops. The remaining 5% of the sold shops are owned by PRs, foreigners and foreign-owned companies.
The rental rates for HDB shops depend on many factors, including location, population catchment size, the nature of business and the prevailing market conditions. One important factor is the extent of competition in a particular locality. Where the supply and demand are in balance, rental stability will likely be achieved.
HDB strives to ensure that there is a good supply of shops to meet demand. Periodically, HDB reviews its provision of commercial shops in HDB towns, taking into account changes in the population catchment, occupancy rate of existing shop spaces and shops’ business sales turnover.
HDB shop rentals have remained relatively stable over the last 10 years. The median rental for HDB rental shops has moved from $44 per square metre in 2001 to $48 per square metre currently.
As for sold shops, HDB does not collect data on their rental rates and is unable to assess the effect of foreign and private ownership of HDB sold shops on their rental trend.
PAPERCUTS