Lush Dream Home

Prices of private residential property could show slowing declines in Q4 2014, especially for the mass-market segment, according to Knight Frank’s Director and Head of Consultancy and Research Alice Tan.

She predicts prices of non-luxury homes in Outside Central Region (OCR) to fall by another 0.5 to 0.8 per cent in Q4 2014, while prices in the Core Central Region (CCR) are expected to fall by another 1 to 2 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Meanwhile, prices in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) are expected drop by around 0.4 to 0.5 per cent from October to December.

The last quarter of the year is also likely to be a quiet period for project launches in view of the upcoming year-end holiday season. Tan said, “Going forward, the number of new unit launches could remain at current levels, with a marked fall in total number of residential units being made available under the H1 2014 GLS programme, of just 4,600 units.”

Additionally, volumes of the private residential property market are not anticipated to rebound strongly in Q4 2014, but HDB resale transactions may rise, according to OrangeTee.

“However, we expect resale volumes to continue to increase as more and more residential projects (BTO, EC and private) attain TOP and these buyers would have to sell their existing flats within six months, as some private property upgraders would sell to finance their upgrade and to claim ABSD rebate,” Steven Tan, Managing Director of OrangeTee.

By the end of 2014, 17,000 to 18,000 units are likely to be completed, according to JLL, and the supply in each of the next two years is expected to be around 20,000 units or more. “This will intensify competition in the leasing market and exacerbate the softening in rentals,” JLL said.