SINGAPORE – Private home prices in Singapore rose for the fifth straight quarter, but at a much slower pace of 0.9 per cent in the second quarter, dampening the probability of more property curbs being implemented in the near future, analysts said.
It follows an increase of 3.3 per cent in the first quarter and 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter last year. Year on year, prices have jumped 7.3 per cent.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) flash estimates released on Thursday morning (July 1) showed that prices of landed properties edged up only 0.8 per cent in the second quarter, compared with a 6.7 per cent jump in the previous quarter.
Huttons Asia director of research Lee Sze Teck said: “After a strong run-up prices in Q1 2021, some landed home owners raised their asking prices; putting themselves out of reach of some buyers, resulting in a pullback and slower price gains in Q2 2021.”
The second quarter’s price growth is the slowest in three quarters due to fewer new launches during Singapore’s heightened alert period, and as new non-landed home supply shrank on construction delays and a labour crunch, said Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie.
In the suburbs or outside central region, where new home supply is leanest, non-landed home prices rose 1.8 per cent quarter on quarter, she noted.
The price increase was less significant for the city fringe or the rest of central region at 0.3 per cent, compared with a 6.1 per cent jump in the previous quarter. Prices rose 0.6 per cent in the prime districts.
“As resale homes formed a higher proportion of transactions last quarter, the overall price index was pulled down by the lower prices. According to caveat data from URA, 60.5 per cent of landed and non-landed homes were resale homes, up from 56.6 per cent in the first quarter,” Ms Sun added.
While the property market has been resilient amid the recession and continued uncertainty over the pandemic, Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon said on Wednesday that the market is not overheated, though the authorities are keeping vigilant.