Private home prices down 5.7% in Q4, HDB resale flat prices still up

Prices of private, non-landed residential properties in Singapore fell 5.7 per cent in the last quarter of 2008.

The quarter-on-quarter drop in private home prices is more than double the 2.4 per cent decrease in the July-September quarter.

Experts said the steep fall is fuelled by deteriorating sentiment. Market players are also matching prices to falling valuations.

Nicholas Mak, consultancy and research, Knight Frank, said: “The individual sellers are being more realistic in their offer price, though there are some segments of sellers who are still resisting, or still hoping to sell at break-even (prices) or at a profit.”

In contrast to the freefall in private home prices, new HDB data on Friday showed HDB resale flats continued to buck the trend, climbing 1.5 per cent in the fourth quarter - following a 4.2 per cent increase in the third quarter.

Experts said this resistance is expected to continue into the downturn.

Eugene Lim, associate director, ERA Asia Pacific, said: “Buyers are coming from people who are upgrading (and) people who are downgrading…also, from the increase in the population of Prs (permanent residents). So the (demand for) HDB resale flats is very strong.”

Observers said they expect flat or slow declines for public housing prices compared to steeper devaluations in the private home sector.

They said this is the trend during times of uncertainty when home buyers opt for the safer option of HDB flats.

Knight Frank estimated that by the end of 2009, private home prices could come down as much as 20 per cent, while HDB flat prices could decline by 5 to 10 per cent.

In a statement released on Friday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) also reported price changes in three geographical regions for the fourth quarter.

Non-landed private residential property came down by 6.3 per cent in the Core Central Region, while it dipped 5.5% per cent in the rest of the Central area.

In areas outside the Central Region, prices slid by about 4.7 per cent.

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 2 Jan 2009