Condo resale prices rise for 19 straight months, up 0.6% in February

Janice Lim

Published Tue, Mar 15, 2022 · 12:49 PM

CONDOMINIUM resale prices have gone up for 19 straight months, rising 0.6 per cent in February this year, compared to the previous month, according to flash estimates from SRX Property and 99.co released on Tuesday (Mar 15).

On a year-on-year basis, resale prices have gone up 8.6 per cent, and the increase is seen across all three regions, with the outside central region (OCR) registering the highest jump of 9.6 per cent.

Resale prices in the core central region (CCR) went up by 7.1 per cent, while those in the rest of central region (RCR) increased by 7.6 per cent, compared to the same month in the previous year.

Although prices are continuing its uptrend, the volume of transactions have actually declined.

Some 1,013 units were resold in February this year, a 9.5 per cent decrease from the month before and the sixth straight month of decline. Compared to February last year, the volume of transactions went down by 23.9 per cent.

More than half of the resale transactions were for condominiums located in the OCR (63.9 per cent). Over 22 per cent of units resold were in the RCR, while 13.8 per cent were from CCR.

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Property analysts cited the property cooling measures, as well as the seasonal slowdown during the Chinese New Year period, which fell on the first week of February this year, as some of the factors contributing to the decline in resale volume.

Ms Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee and Tie, said that some buyers may have taken a temporary backseat in the light of the growing global uncertainties arising from the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

"The recent Russia-Ukraine conflict has rattled global supply chains and led to higher oil and natural gas prices worldwide which have roiled commodity markets," she added.

Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at ERA, said that transaction volumes will usually be the first to react to changes in market conditions, but prices may be affected further down the road.

"The direction of the property market indicators in the next few months will be crucial. If property transaction volume continue to weaken in the coming months and property prices also decline in due course, it would be a turning point for the property market," he said.

While Ms Sun said there may not be significant price markdowns in the coming months, slower price growth may persist until the geopolitical situation stabilises.

Nevertheless, some analysts noted that over 30,000 households living in public housing would have completed their 5-year minimum occupation period in 2022.

This could lead to more flats being sold and some families upgrading to condominiums, which could help support private condominium demand this year.

According to the flash report, the most expensive condominium transaction was for a S$10.5 million unit at Ardmore Park. In the RCR, the highest transacted price was for a unit at Amber Residences which sold for S$6.78 million, while the most expensive condo in the OCR was for a Goldenhill Park apartment which changed hands at S$4.3 million.

According to calculations by SRX and 99.co, the overall median capital gain for February this year is S$266,100. This represents an increase of S$4,850 from the month before.

Condominiums located at District 21, which includes Clementi Park and Upper Bukit Timah, had the highest median capital gain at S$634,000, while those at District 17, which is at the Changi area, had the lowest capital gain of S$116,150.

The capital gain or loss of a condo resale unit is calculated by comparing the current transacted price with the previous transacted price of the same unit.