PRIME residential prices in Singapore fell the most for the year ended March 31, 2015, among 35 cities tracked by Knight Frank's Global Cities Index for the first quarter of this year.

The prices here were down 12.6 per cent, far ahead of the cities that were next in line - Zurich and Geneva - which experienced a 5 per cent drop each.

At the far end of the spectrum was San Francisco, which saw a 14.3 per cent gain in private residential prices, as well as Bengaluru, India, with a 13.6 per cent increase.

Overall, the index increased 3.9 per cent in the year. If cities in North America and Australia were omitted, the index would have recorded growth of 2.3 per cent.

For the six months ended March, Singapore's prime residential prices were down 7.3 per cent, with only Los Angeles surpassing its decline with a 13.7 per cent drop. Meanwhile, Miami's prime residential prices surged 22.4 per cent.

For the three months ended March, prime residential prices in Singapore were down 3.7 per cent, with Los Angeles, New York and Cape Town experiencing steeper falls.

Alice Tan, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, said: "Singapore's luxury residential market remains tepid for first three months of 2015, plagued by property cooling measures and persistent weakness in demand in the last two years.

"Notwithstanding the lackluster price performance, there are recent signs of growing enquiries from prospective buyers who are gradually turning their interest to pick value buys. Singapore's luxury homes continue to possess long-term investment potential with its prime location, high quality and stable market fundamentals."