The private property price index rose two percent to a new high of 194.8, the lowest percentage growth per quarter since the 2008 financial crisis.
“The impact of the 30 August 2010 cooling measures on prices is evident,” said Mr. Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex. “Prices in the Core Central, Rest of Central and Outside Central regions all grew marginally by 2.2 percent, 1.9 percent and 2.1 percent respectively, which is lower growth quarter-on-quarter across the board.”
While the price levels appear to have stabilised because of the cooling measures, the total sales volume reached 8,511, only two transactions less than the Q3 2010 volume and the highest Q4 sales volume since 2006.
The number of private property resales and sub-sales dipped 11 percent and 19 percent respectively, while new sales volume climbed 17 percent.
Meanwhile, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said 1,659 uncompleted executive condominium (EC) units were released for sale by developers in Q4, and 2,535 EC units were in the pipeline as of end Q4.
Private residential properties could grow five percent to eight percent this year, said Mr. Ismail, adding that the different property types will see different growth rates.
“Mass market condominiums in the Outside Central areas should see a modest growth of three percent to five percent, buoyed mainly by the more mature estates, as newer developments will have to be launched at prices that are sensitive to the cooler market sentiment,” he said.
“The growth for Core Central will probably be negligible, at about one percent to two percent, while the Rest of Central could enjoy up to 10 percent growth in price levels.”
Landed properties could see a 10 to 12 percent price growth, as they will always be in demand due to land scarcity in Singapore, said Mr. Ismail.