Private housing prices fell slightly by 0.2 percent in the second quarter of 2023, according to real estate statistics released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Jul 28).
This is the first time that private home prices have declined since the first quarter of 2020, when prices fell 1 percent during the onset of COVID-19, said Ms Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie.
The URA price index for private property is now at 194.4, down from 194.8 in the preceding quarter.
Prices show signs of moderation and stabilisation, said Ms Sun.
The dip is slightly less than the flash estimates released earlier this month, which indicated a 0.4 percent fall in prices.
According to the latest data, prices of non-landed properties – or condominiums and apartments – fell by 0.6 percent in the second quarter, a reversal from the 2.6 percent increase in the previous quarter.
By region, prices of non-landed properties in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) fell the most, by 2.5 percent. Such homes in the Core Central Region (CCR) also slipped by 0.1 percent.
But prices of non-landed properties in the Outside Central Region (OCR) continued to climb, up 1.2 percent in the second quarter. This is a slower increase than the first quarter’s 1.9 percent.
Prices of landed properties increased by 1.1 percent, moderating from a 5.9 percent increase in the first quarter.
Ms Sun said that the slower price growth may be attributed to property cooling measures implemented in September 2022 and April 2023, which raised the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for some buyers and affected borrowing ability.
“Some buyers continue to face high borrowing costs as interest rates remain elevated. Sellers are also facing more pressure as supply gradually builds up with more private home completions,” she said.
