Resale condo prices up 0.4% in May: SRX

Singapore

RESALE prices of private non-landed homes in Singapore rose 0.4 per cent in May, led by improvements in the prime and city-fringe regions, flash estimates from SRX Property show.

The price change in April was revised from "no change" to a 0.2 per cent dip. Still, SRX Property's resale index is showing an overall recovery since last November. Resale prices in May were 1.5 per cent higher than a year ago, also buoyed by the prime and city-fringe areas.

But some analysts are reluctant to call it a bottoming out of the market just yet, noting that other market indices such as the NUS Singapore Residential Price Index, which tracks completed private apartments and condominiums, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority's private residential price index are still showing a downtrend.

"It is still uncertain if prices have indeed bottomed out and are on an uptrend," said OrangeTee head of research and consultancy Wong Xian Yang.

"I would say the market is still in the midst of bottoming out and may stabilise by the end of the year, barring an unforeseen deterioration in economic conditions," he added.

SRX Property data shows that both the Core Central Region (CCR) and the Rest of Central Region (RCR) recorded an increase of 1.1 per cent in resale prices in May while the Outside Central Region (OCR) saw a price decrease of 0.4 per cent.

Resale volumes of 1,235 units in May were 17.4 per cent more than the month before, and 57.7 per cent more than in May last year, based on SRX Property's estimates.

SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak felt that what is clear for now is that there is an improvement in buying sentiment. Some potential buyers have stopped sitting on the fence and are looking to buy investment properties.

URA's data for the first quarter showed a 14th straight quarter of decline in private home prices, but the 0.4 per cent drop was the smallest dip in the past quarters, with non-landed home prices staying flat during the quarter. This, analysts note, has affirmed that a bottoming-out is still under way.

Lee Nai Jia, head of South-east Asia research at Edmund Tie and Company, noted that notwithstanding month-to-month fluctuations in resale prices, there is increased likelihood of prices trending up, with recent bullish bids for land sold by the government and en bloc sites partially contributing to this.

"Notwithstanding, the pace of increase is likely to be at a moderated pace, as the overall price index may be weighed down by prices of properties in locations with more completions or in less popular locations," Dr Lee said.