Prices of private resale homes continue to rise for the second straight month in April.
According to the Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) flash estimate published by the Institute of Real Estate Studies at the National University of Singapore, resale home prices climbed 0.8 per cent last month, after rising 0.4 per cent in March.
Prices of resale units in the central area were up 1.6 per cent in April, compared to just 0.1 per cent increase in March.
Meanwhile, resale home prices in the non-central region remain unchanged.
Property analysts said the uptick in prices could be a result of higher transaction volume in the secondary market in March and April.
Donald Han, special advisor at HSR, said: “The secondary market volume is picking up, especially after the run-up in new home sales in the first quarter. Primary market prices have gone up and some buyers may think that they can get better value in the secondary market.”
However, resale prices of small apartments dipped 1.2 per cent, after increasing 2.7 per cent in March.
Some analysts attribute the dip to a larger supply of small units in the market as well as a closer monitoring of the shoebox apartment segment by the government.
Jones Lang LaSalle’s research head (Southeast Asia), Chua Yang Liang, said: “We expect the resale prices of shoebox units to stabilise in the later part of the year, leasing demand is quite positive because total quantum is still low.”
Overall, analysts said the performance of the secondary market this year will also depend on the health of the global economy, especially with the lingering debt issues in the eurozone.
Source : CNA – 2012 May 29
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