S’pore home prices extend losing streak

SINGAPORE: Singapore home prices fell in the quarter ended June, extending the drop in property values to a record 15th quarter as most measures to cool the market remain in place despite a slight easing in March.

An index tracking private residential prices fell 0.3% in the three months ended June 30 from the previous quarter, according to preliminary data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority released yesterday. The almost four-year decline in prices is the longest since the data was first published in 1975.

Singapore’s leaders, determined to keep a lid on home prices in the city-state, have unleashed a series of measures to cool the market since 2009. The government in March rolled back some property-market restrictions for the first time in eight years, although has cautioned that those adjustments don’t signal an unwinding of the measures.

“We don’t expect a recovery in prices this year – even though we have seen some improvement in market sentiment – as the central bank has indicated it won’t be easing curbs anytime soon,” said Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International Property Consultants in Singapore.

“We will continue to see a small gradual decline in prices for the rest of the year.” Prices in prime areas declined 0.9% in the quarter, while suburban homes were 0.4% lower in the three months ended June, the data showed. — Bloomberg