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Singapore private home prices drop 1.1% in Q2

Singapore private home prices drop 1.1% in Q2

Flash estimate from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed that the private residential property index fell 1.1% in Q2 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to affect the Singapore housing market as private home prices fell for a second consecutive quarter.

Flash estimate from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed that the private residential property index fell 1.1% in the second quarter of 2020, following a 1% decline seen in the previous quarter.

URA revealed that prices of non-landed homes within the Core Central Region (CCR) slipped 0.1% in Q2, an improvement from Q1’s 2.2% decline. The Rest of Central Region (RCR) saw prices fall 1.9%, a bigger decline compared to the previous quarter’s 0.5% decrease.

Prices within the Outside Central Region, on the other hand, remained unchanged after registering a 0.4% decline in Q1.

“Last quarter, show flats were closed while house viewings were barred during the Circuit Breaker period. As a result, buyer demand was suppressed which will inevitably have a negative impact on home prices,” said Christine Sun, Head of Research and Consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie.

“However, it could be too early to conclude that this is the beginning of a sustained period of price declines. We should be cautious in interpreting the price dips in a volatile market, particularly when sales volume is low.”

URA caveat data showed that the number of resale transactions in Q2 2020 is around a quarter of what was sold over the same period last year. The number of new home sales transacted last quarter is also around 50% of what was sold in Q2 2019, noted OrangeTee & Tie.

“There is sporadic evidence of ‘green shoots’ in certain market segments and some buyers were snapping up relatively good bargains in the market over the past few weeks. Therefore, the prices trends could be distorted by some of these properties or special priced units,” said Sun.

“We should observe the property market for a few more quarters to ascertain if prices have bottomed.”

With this, Sun expects home prices to remain soft in the coming months considering the macroeconomic uncertainties. For the full year, she expects private home prices to drop by 3% to 5%.

 

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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg