Singapore's soaring property market has prompted the Government to release an unprecedented amount of data on both the private and public housing markets.

This is to improve the transparency of price movements and to help the public make informed decisions.

The wealth of information, which includes sale prices and rent levels for both privately developed as well as HDB homes, is available online at www.ura.gov.sg and www.hdb.gov.sg.

The numbers are updated either monthly or quarterly.

Median subletting rents by town and flat type

What it is

Median prices are provided for rental rates by town and flat type registered in that quarter.

What the median price tells you is that half of the units were rented above that price and half below.

Why it is important

These figures give a more accurate picture of subletting rates for HDB flats, by town and flat type.

They discount rare cases of flats that fetch high rents due to special attributes.

The data is based on rents that landlords themselves have declared when filling out HDB subletting application forms. Still, HDB believes it serves as a useful reference for prospective tenants.

Number of subletting approvals by flat type

What it is

It shows the number of approved flats available for rent by flat type.

Why it is important

This is the first time HDB has released such data. It paints a detailed picture of how many rental HDB flats are available for potential tenants.

HDB data shows a 50 per cent increase in the number of subletting approvals, from 2,400 cases in the first quarter to 3,600 in the second quarter.

HDB also says there are currently about 14,600 HDB flat owners who have been given approval to sublet their flats on the open market.

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