Prices of non-landed private homes still flat

Non-landed private home prices were still flat in August compared with the previous month, according to the latest flash estimates released by the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI), which is compiled by the NUS Institute of Real Estate Studies, takes into account only completed projects.

NUS’ overall price index for non-landed homes in August climbed 0.8 percent month-on-month, compared with the 0.1 percent month-on-month decline for July. The index for June rose 0.6 percent over the earlier month. In May, the index rose 2.4 percent.

The numbers show that the resale apartments / condominiums market had stabilised since June, even before the announcement of the latest cooling measures, said Tan Tiong Cheng, chairman of Knight Frank.

“Much of the sales in the primary market (developer sales) in the past few months have been driven by shoebox units. So the volume of developer sales was pretty strong in July and August but if you look at the absolute dollar quantum of units sold, it's not increasing,” said Mr. Tan.

NUS’ sub-index for the Central region, which covers properties in districts 1 to 4 and 9 to 11, remain unchanged in August after a 0.8 percent month-on-month decline in July. Meanwhile, the sub-index for the Non-Central region surged 1.5 percent in August from the earlier month, following a 0.5 percent growth in July.

Since end-2009, the overall index has jumped 10 percent, the Central region’s sub-index has gone up 7.6 percent and the Non-Central region climbed 11.8 percent.

While the August estimate for the Central region remains 4 percent lower than the pre-crisis high in November 2007, the latest index for the Non-Central region has exceeded its pre-crisis peak in January 2008 by 13.9 percent. Thus, the overall NUS flash estimate for August is 6.9 percent higher than in November 2007.