Singapore Q2 revealed that private home prices are up for the fifth straight quarter and property analysts continue to debate the odds of cooling measures and how targeted they would be.
URA unveiled an estimate released on July 1 and announced that the private residential property index increased 0.8% in the second quarter of 2021, compared to 3.3% in the first quarter of 2021. This is the fifth consecutive quarterly price growth and this price increase in the second quarter was mainly driven by non-landed homes in the Outside of Central Region (OCR) which rose by 1.8% quarter on quarter.
Construction delays and a labour crunch amid the pandemic resulted in more buyers turning to the resale market, analysts said. Non-landed properties also saw a 0.9 percent rise after climbing 2.5 percent in the first quarter. (HeyJoles reported earlier, click here to read the previous article)
The price increase was less significant for the outer city fringe or the rest of the central region at 0.3 percent, compared with a 6.1 percent increase in the previous quarter. Prices went up 0.6 percent in the prime districts. The second quarter also saw fewer new launches during Singapore’s heightened alert period. This pushed down property prices as new homes are typically sold at higher prices compared with resale homes. The property market is being pushed by a heated demand from Housing Board buyers that have the intention to upgrade, a recovering economy, and low mortgage rates. As the economy continues to recover and the job market brightens, property prices are likely to continue on their upward trajectory trend. The scarcity of suburban homes is also likely to keep resale properties attractive.
URA’s recent estimates are compiled based on transaction prices provided by contracts submitted for stamp duty payment and information on units sold by developers up until mid-June. The statistics are updated again during August.
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