Night view of Toa Payoh, Singapore
Chanachai Panichpattanakij | moment | Getty Images
Private home prices in Singapore fell for the first time in five quarters amid falling sales, preliminary market data showed on Tuesday.
Data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed that the private house price index fell by 1.1% in the last quarter compared to the previous three months.
The decline reversed gains in the second quarter and represented the index's first decline since the second quarter of 2023. Overall, prices rose just 1.1% in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to a 3.9% gain during the same period a year earlier. .
Sales transaction volume also decreased by about 11% in the third quarter compared to the previous three months. In the first three quarters of 2024, sales transactions were down 8.1% from last year.
“While macroeconomic conditions remain sound, the economic outlook is subject to uncertainties, and market sentiment remains sensitive to geopolitical developments and changes in global interest rates,” the authority said.
Some buyers may have held back from purchasing homes in the third quarter in anticipation of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in September.
However, the authority said that despite the Fed's interest rate cuts, mortgage interest rates in Singapore are expected to remain high compared to the low levels seen over the past 10 years.
“Households should continue to be careful when purchasing property and obtaining mortgage loans,” she added.
The Urban Development Authority’s estimates were based on contract prices and data on units sold by real estate developers until mid-September. The authority will release a more complete set of real estate statistics for the third quarter on October 25.
Meanwhile, resale prices of Singapore Housing and Development Board apartments rose 2.5% in the third quarter from the previous quarter, according to HDB estimates also released on Tuesday. HDB resale volumes rose by 20% quarter-on-quarter.
In Singapore, more than 80% of the population lives in public housing apartments, which are built, sold and subsidized by the government. Local authorities have recently taken measures to calm the public housing market.
“The government will continue to closely monitor the real estate market and adjust its policies as necessary to promote a stable and sustainable real estate market,” the HDB said.