Private residential property prices fell 1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) flash estimates released on Friday (Jan 2) – a larger decline than the 0.7 per cent slide in the previous quarter, and the fifth consecutive quarters of price decreases.
For the whole of 2014, prices have fallen by 4 per cent, the URA said.
Overall, the private residential property index fell 2.1 points from 207.9 points in the third quarter to 205.8 points in the fourth quarter.
Prices of non-landed private residential properties declined in all market segments. In the Core Central Region (CCR), prices fell 0.9 per cent, higher than the 0.8 per cent decline in the previous quarter. Prices in Rest of Central Region (RCR) fell 1.2 per cent, compared to the 0.4 per cent decline in the previous quarter. In Outside Central Region (OCR), prices fell 0.9 per cent, a greater slide than the 0.3 per cent decline in the previous quarter, according to the URA.
For the whole of 2014, prices in CCR, RCR and OCR have fallen by 4.1 per cent, 5.2 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively. Prices of landed properties fell 1.1 per cent compared to the 1.8 per cent decline in the previous quarter. For the whole of 2014, prices of landed properties fell by 5.2 per cent, the URA said.
The flash estimates are compiled based on transaction prices given in caveats lodged and survey data on new units sold by developers during the first ten weeks of the quarter.
The statistics will be updated four weeks later, when the full real estate statistics for the quarter are released by the URA. “Past data have shown that the difference between the quarterly price changes indicated by the flash estimate and the actual price changes could be significant when the change is small. The public is advised to interpret the flash estimates with caution,” said the URA.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 2 Jan 2015