Singapore private home prices fall 1.1% q-o-q in Q4, down 4% for full-year 2014 (Amended)

PRICE declines in private residential properties accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2014, falling 1.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter compared to 0.7 per cent in the previous quarter, and this marked the fifth straight quarter of price fall.

This brings the full-year drop in prices to 4 per cent for private homes - the first year of price decline since 2008 - reversing a 1.1 per cent climb in prices in 2013, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

URA flash estimates earlier showed a 1 per cent drop in overall private residential price index.

The quarterly statistics released by URA on Friday showed price weakness across all segments of the private residential market.

Prices of landed properties declined by 1.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter, following a 1.8 per cent drop in the previous quarter. For the whole of last year, prices of landed properties declined by 5.3 per cent.

Non-landed home market was also a soft patch. Prices of non-landed properties in the core city areas slipped 0.9 per cent during the quarter, while those in the city fringes and suburban areas dipped 1.4 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively. For the full year, prices in these regions fell 4.1 per cent, 5.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.

URA's data showed that there were 1,151 resale transactions in private condominiums, excluding executive condos, in the fourth quarter, down from 1,377 transactions in the third quarter, and accounting for 43.7 per cent of all sale transactions. Developers sold 1,376 private condos in the fourth quarter, lower than the 1,531 units sold in the previous quarter.

Amendment: We earlier said that URA flash estimates previously showed a 2.1 per cent drop in overall private residential price index. It should be 1 per cent. The article has been amended to reflect this.