Tag Archives: Cooling measures

Impact of cooling measures still unclear

Posted on 29 May 2013 | Comments Off on Impact of cooling measures still unclear

It remains unclear whether the government’s seventh round of cooling measures have achieved its desired result of mitigating home price inflation, said a report from the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Real Estate Studies.

This is based on its latest Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) which monitors prices of completed non-landed private homes, excluding executive condominiums (ECs).

Resale prices of such homes rose 1.9 percent in April from March, building on the 1.1 percent gain seen in the previous month.

Meanwhile, prices increased across Singapore, with the non-central region recording the highest growth of 2.4 percent, a reversal of the 0.2 percent dip in March. Home prices in the central region also climbed 1.3 percent, extending the 2.8 percent gain the month before. Prices of small units (under 506 sq ft) rose 1.8 percent compared to the previous uptick of 0.8 percent.

“As with earlier policy measures, the latest cooling package announced in January apparently had only a temporary effect on the trajectory of housing prices,” the report said.

“Transaction volume and prices fell in February but have recovered since then, with the overall SRPI buoyed by the strength of the housing market in the non-central region … It is unclear that the seventh instalment of the cooling measures, described as the most comprehensive to date, has had the desired impact of mitigating house price inflation.”

Source – PRopGuru – 29 May 2013

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Posted in Cooling Measures, Property Market / Real Estate

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Govt not doing enough to curb soaring house prices: survey

Posted on 21 May 2013 | Comments Off on Govt not doing enough to curb soaring house prices: survey

The government’s recent cooling measures to moderate property prices are still not enough, according to 60 percent of the 662 online respondents in PropertyGuru’s latest Property Sentiment Survey for the second quarter of 2013.

This is 13 percent higher than the 47 percent recorded previously in Q1.

There was some good news though. The Property Affordability Sentiment Index (ASI) was up at 87 from 80 in the previous quarter, reflecting a ‘cooling off’ from the sky-high prices seen since Q2 2012.

This was supported by the larger number of Singaporeans who believe that property prices are unlikely to rise. Compared with last quarter, 10 percent more respondents do not expect prices to move up further.

But only 19 percent plan to make property purchases in the next six months even though prices are not expected to grow.

At the same time, the majority still feel that property prices are costly. For HDB flats, 37 percent reckon that prices are too expensive with 36 percent saying they are expensive. A significant number (84 percent) feel that private apartments and condominiums are pricey.

Overall, Singaporeans were less satisfied with the real estate climate in Q2 with only 24 percent satisfied with the property climate, the second lowest level recorded since Q3 2011. 75 percent of those dissatisfied said properties are overpriced, while 64 percent pointed to prices being expensive.

Meanwhile, those who are satisfied highlighted the country’s healthy economy (40 percent), good capital appreciation in property investment (39 percent) and low mortgage / interest rates (38 percent).

Generally, satisfaction in the real estate climate is declining again, clearly seen in the higher proportion of Singaporeans still very dissatisfied.

Source – PropGuru – 21 May 2013

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