It's cheaper to rent than to buy (on current prices). According to Swee Yong Ku, rental yields of private properties such as those recently completed 99-year leasehold brand new outskirts of CBD is 3.0% per annum.
So as an owner you pay stamp duty, maintenance, proptax, interest expenses and u also lose CPF interest.
What the owner loses, the tenant saves.
Freehold yields in prime areas are below 2.5% and landed properties rentals return less than 2% a year.
