Singapore Private Home Prices Fall for First Time in More Than Three Years

Singapore’s price index for private residential properties fell 0.4 percent in the April-June quarter compared with the first three months of the year, marking the first decline since the first quarter of 2020, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s flash estimates released Monday.

The reading reversed a 3.3 percent increase in the first quarter of 2023. Prices of non-landed properties fell by an even greater 0.5 percent after a 2.6 percent rise in the previous quarter, the URA said. Prices of landed properties inched up 0.1 percent, slowing sharply from a 5.9 percent jump in the prior period.

PropNex Realty CEO Ismail Gafoor said the moderation in overall private home prices should be met with relief in the market after much media discussion of rising home prices.

“Given the muted economic growth — and some economists have flagged possible technical recession risk — a slower increase in home prices is also beneficial for the market, ensuring that prices do not get too far ahead of economic fundamentals,” Gafoor said in a release. “Also, this could possibly help to stay the hands of the authorities in introducing more cooling measures in the near-term, seeing that prices are moderating.”

City-Fringe Pullback

The second-quarter decline was led by the city-fringe Rest of Central Region, where non-landed home prices fell 2.6 percent after four consecutive quarters of healthy price gains, PropNex said.

The property agency interpreted the dip as a sign that developers have begun pricing projects more sensitively, as the quarter witnessed four major new launches in the RCR — namely Tembusu Grand, Blossoms by the Park, The Continuum and The Reserve Residences — which helped to spur sales volume.

Far East Organization’s The Reserve in Bukit Timah was the period’s strongest seller, moving more than 81 percent of its 732 units at a median price of S$2,474 ($1,831) per square foot since launch.

In the Core Central Region, non-landed home prices edged up 0.3 percent for the smallest quarterly price increase for the submarket since a 0.1 percent decline in the first quarter of 2022, PropNex said. Bukit Sembawang Land’s 120-unit The Atelier in Newton was the top-selling project in the prime CCR, shifting 71 units.

Non-landed private home prices in the Outside Central Region rose 1.2 percent, easing from a 1.9 percent increase in the first quarter. With a lack of new launches, the best-selling OCR project was Sim Lian Group’s 386-unit The Botany at Dairy Farm in Bukit Panjang, moving 30 units.

Eyes on Next Launches

Sales transaction volume of private homes totalled 4,762 units in the second quarter through mid-June, up from 4,121 in the first quarter but down considerably from 6,811 in the second quarter of 2022, the URA said.

Chia Siew Chuin, head of residential research at JLL Singapore, said it remains to be seen whether April’s market cooling measures would have a more permanent effect on stabilising the residential market or similarly result in brief blips in prices.

“The forthcoming launches including Pinetree Hill, The Myst and Lentor Hills Residences are anticipated to sustain demand and potentially prices, as they predominantly cater to a larger pool of owner-occupiers,” Chia said.