Private home prices drop 5.9 percent

Private home prices in Singapore dropped 5.9 percent in the second quarter, a big improvement compared to the 14.1 percent decline in the first quarter.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the estimates, revealing that the decline in prices of non-landed homes was the lowest in suburban areas.

Home prices in this segment dropped 2.6 percent while 6.6 percent plummeted in core central areas and 6.3 percent declined in city-fringes.

The residential property market grew as home buyers purchased uncompleted homes and flocked to showflats.

Despite the weak economic condition in Singapore, the sales of new private homes have become stronger and the resale home market has improved.

“The strong buying phenomenon in the market is partly due to new competitive pricing for some projects, the recent stock market rally, signs of an economic turnaround and pent-up demand,” said Mr. Eugene Lim, associate director of ERA Asia Pacific.

In HDB resale market, prices have increased by 1.2 percent due to strong housing demand, reversing the 0.8 percent marginal decline in the first quarter of this year.

URA’s estimates were based on caveats lodged in the first ten weeks of the quarter.