RESALE PROPERTY PRICES DOWN YET AGAIN
Overall resale prices of non-landed private homes fell 0.4 percent in January, continuing the downtrend seen in December when overall property prices dipped 0.8 percent.
According to the latest Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) statistics released by the Institute of Real Estate Studies NUS ), resale prices for private homes in the central area were down 1.9 percent, while prices of small units slid one percent. The figures were calculated from home transactions received as of 21 February.
Meanwhile, prices of resale units outside the central region inched up one percent.
The institute added that home prices were impacted by the ABSD (additional buyer's stamp duty) introduced in early December.
Industry players expect prices to soften in the next few months, adding that transaction volumes within the secondary market have dropped since last year.
“Transactions for resale non-landed private homes fell from 24,000 in 2010 to 16,000 in 2011. Moving into the first quarter of 2012, in terms of transaction volume, the bulk of the activity is likely to be dominated by new units,” said Donald Han, Special Advisor at HSR Property Group.
Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) shows that 1,872 new homes were sold in January. Driving the demand were mass market projects like Parc Rosewood, The Hillier and Watertown
Although sales have slowed across the private resale market, analysts believe that prices will not drop radically.
“I don't think we will see big price cuts if the economic conditions do not deteriorate badly. For the first quarter, we expect overall resale prices for private homes to remain flat or just marginally negative,” said Ong Teck Hui, Head of Research and Consultancy at Credo Real Estate.
Info courtesy - PropertyGuru.com.sg
