Tag Archives: Singapore Residential Price Index

Private resale home prices down 1%

With developers launching more new units in the market, resale prices of private homes slid further in April, according to the Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) published yesterday.

On a monthly basis, overall prices dipped by one percent in April compared to the 1.4 percent drop in the previous month, revealed the index compiled by the National University of Singapore (NUS)’s Institute of Real Estate Studies (IRES).

The suburban region saw the biggest decline of two percent, while resale prices in the central region remained flat. In March, resale prices in the suburbs and central region fell 1.1 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.

As for small units, or properties measuring up to 506 sq ft, resale prices declined by 0.6 percent versus the 0.2 percent dip in March.

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