By Rachel Chan

IMAGINE paying no more than $3,500 a month to live in a centrally located, million-dollar, two-bedroom apartment.

But here's the catch: The apartment could be decades old, and already sold en bloc - so you may not have very long to live there.

For the time being, rent is going for a song in at least 23 mature condominium developments in the central part of Singapore.

Where the hot rental units are  Click on thumbnail to view

These developments, with more than 2,000 units in all, had originally been bought by developers for en bloc redevelopment in 2006 and 2007.

About half of the 23 estates are located within prime districts nine to 11 - the prestigious Newton, Orchard and Tanglin belt - based on data compiled by property consultancy CB Richard Ellis' (CBRE) research team, online property-search firm All Property Media and my paper.

But after the recession hit, demand for new properties nosedived, so developers held back redevelopment plans and leased out these condos instead.

This move would help the developers defray the costs of holding onto the properties without developing them, industry experts said.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic real-estate lecturer Nicholas Mak said: "The property market softened during the second quarter last year.

"Developers realised that the high-end market couldn't support prices they wanted, and braced themselves for a long recession in the second half of last year.

"No one at that time knew how long it would last. So, rather than leaving the acquired buildings empty, developers decided to rent their properties out."

Inhabitants of these en bloc estates run the gamut from Middle Eastern medical tourists to expatriates, foreign students and Singaporeans waiting for HDB flats.

Particularly popular with foreign students taking courses at the East Asia Institute of Management (EASB) in Ah Hood Road are five properties located in an area bound by Balestier Road, Thomson Road, Jalan Raja Udang and Jalan Datoh.

A mechanic working in the area, who declined to be named, noted: "Some of the girls living here might appear to be students by day, but by night they prowl the streets all dolled up. A friend was solicited once."

Real-estate developer City Developments Limited (CDL) had acquired the five properties - The Albany, Thomson Mansion, Bright Building, Concorde Residences and Balestier Court - in 2006 and 2007.

my paper understands that these condos were leased out sometime in March this year to three master tenants - companies that shoulder responsibility for the maintenance and occupancy of these properties.

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