S’pore private home prices dip 6.1% in Q4 as recession continues
January 23, 2009
SINGAPORE: Private home prices fell by 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008 as Singapore continues to face recession woes.
The decrease marked the second quarterly decline in residential property prices following a 2.4 per cent fall in the third quarter ended September.
The latest decline, announced in data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday, was worse than expected. Initial estimates earlier this month had forecast a 5.7 per cent drop.
The URA also said that rents in the fourth quarter slipped 5.3 per cent.
Analysts said the trending down in prices came as no surprise as demand for new homes has been softening amid the economic downturn.
For 2008 as a whole, prices of private residential properties fell by 4.7 per cent. This is a turnaround from the 31.2 per cent jump in the previous year.
According to URA, 706 uncompleted units were launched for sale by developers in the fourth quarter, down from 2,244 units in the previous three months.
Sales also slipped, with 407 deals done compared to 1,452 units sold in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the public housing sector remains more resilient. Resale prices of HDB flats in the fourth quarter rose by 1.4 per cent, albeit lower than the 4.2 per cent increase recorded in the third quarter.
Resale transactions fell by 24 per cent to about 6,190 units, while the median cash-over-valuation amount dropped by S$4,000 to S$15,000 in the fourth quarter.
Source: Channelnewsasia.com