Condo resale prices rise 1% in January, 6.3% y-o-y: SRX Property

RESALE prices of condominiums and private apartments continued to appreciate month-on-month and at a faster pace, according to the latest flash estimates from real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday.

The values of non-landed private homes rose one per cent in January 2018 from December 2017. This compares to the 0.3 per cent rise in December, revised down from SRX's initial estimate of a 0.4 per cent increase.

The recent trend of island-wide increases was sustained: The core central region (CCR) was up 1.2 per cent month-on-month; with the rest of central region (RCR) advancing 1.4 per cent; and the outside central region (OCR) rising 0.6 per cent.

Resale prices of condos and private apartments climbed 6.3 per cent in January from the year-ago period, and are now off just 1.2 per cent from their last peak in January 2014, SRX figures show.

All locations saw price appreciation year-on-year, with the CCR, RCR and OCR recording increases of 5.6 per cent, 9.7 per cent, and 4.4 per cent respectively.

According to SRX Property, an estimated 1,097 non-landed private residential units were resold in January 2018, a 15.1 per cent increase from the 953 units sold in December.

Year-on-year, resale volume last month was 99.8 per cent higher compared to the 549 units resold in January 2017.

SRX data show that prices of resale condos and apartments have appreciated 6.1 per cent for all of 2017.

Official government figures show that private home prices - both new and resale - rose 1.1 per cent last year, ending a near four-year decline, led by non-landed units rising 1.3 per cent.

Analysts have said the en bloc sale fever has likely pushed up resale private residential prices and transactions as cashed-out owners look for replacement homes. The steady upturn in the Singapore economy and job market, plus the Government's tweak of its seller's stamp duty in March last year, also helped the overall market's recovery.