Suburban condos can continue to outperform prime ones

Many people dream of owning a condominium unit close to the Orchard Road shopping belt or in the established private residential enclave of Bukit Timah or in the new downtown area of Marina Bay.

But one may be better off buying a home in the suburbs as a flat in Jurong, Tampines or Punggol likely enjoyed stronger price appreciation.

Based on data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, prices of private non-landed homes in the outside central region (OCR) or suburbs rose by 14.7 per cent in Q1 2022 versus Q4 2019, which was prior to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the same period, among private non-landed homes, prices rose 3.4 per cent in the core central region (CCR) or prime areas, and 18.4 per cent in the rest of central region (RCR) or city fringe.