Singapore private residential property prices up 2.5% in Q3: URA

Singapore private residential prices rose by their fastest pace in more than 6 years in the third quarter of this year.They jumped 2.5% compared to the previous three months and some consultants say, buying activity has finally flowed into the mass market.

Meanwhile, HDB prices fell by a marginal 0.2% in the third quarter.

Flash estimates out on Monday from the Urban Redevelopment Authority show that private home prices continue to stay on an upward trend during the third quarter.

That did not come as a real surprise.

But the 2.5% clip is the strongest jump for the last 26 quarters, after the 3.1% increase in the first quarter of 2000.

Some consultants say the price gains are starting to filter down to the middle and mass markets.

Chua Yang Liang, Head of Research – Singapore, Jones Lang LaSalle, said: “The URA flash number confirms our in-house numbers and show a similar trend – an increase in the average capital values for both resales and new sales market and in our opinion, driven largely again by high-end residential market but at the same time, we are detecting some resale market activity.”

Resale numbers look set to beat last year’s volume, supported by transactions in the mass market.

Mr Chua said: “If you compare last year’s number, the whole of 2005, the total number of resales, it’s about 4,100 and this year, half year alone, it is already 2,700. It is mostly mass market, but specific to which district, my gut feel, it is in the traditional 15, 16 to be probably the main drivers.”

Sales of new units are also expected to outstrip last year’s.

Total number of new units in the first half of this year amounted to some 4,000 units.

Considering the brisk sales in the third quarter of this year, some analysts forecast that the number of new units sold for the whole of 2006 could exceed last year’s total of 8,000 units.

Source: Channel NewsAsia, 02 October 2006

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