SINGAPORE CONDO RESALE PRICES UP 0.4% IN MAY, RISING FOR 4th STRAIGHT MONTH : SRX

SINGAPORE - Singapore's condo resale prices rose 0.4 per cent in May from April, rising for the fourth consecutive month, according to monthly figures from real estate portal SRX Property released on Tuesday (June 11).

The increase in May follows a 0.8 per cent gain in April, which was adjusted from its initial 0.9 per cent flash estimate. Price gains of non-landed private homes were led by the city fringes, or rest of central region, which was up 0.8 per cent. Prices in the core central region and outside central region areas were up a more modest 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.

Volume of sales increased by 3 per cent with 835 units resold in May, compared to the 811 units recorded in April. However, this was 46.1 per cent fewer units resold than in May 2018. Year on year, overall condo prices rose 2.3 per cent. Property market veteran Nicholas Mak said there were more signs of a stabilising market, with resale volume largely unchanged from March to May this year at between 809 and 835 units monthly.

The upward price trend, which was more visible in the past four consecutive months when it grew by 2.2 per cent from January to May 2019, showed that buyers and sellers were potentially becoming more comfortable with the cooling curbs, Mr Mak said. "Another possible factor is the new property launches, which are higher priced on a per square foot basis," he said. "This may have an upward influence on the resale prices."

Source: The Straits Times, Published on June 11, 2019