Singapore condo, apartment resale prices hit new high with 1.5% monthly rise in March: SRX

RESALE prices for condominiums and private apartments moved up again, to hit a new high in March 2018, a private real estate portal survey has said.

Prices for non-landed private homes rose by 1.5 per cent against February's peak, according to flash estimates from SRX Property on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the price change for February was revised upwards to 2 per cent, from an earlier estimate of 1.9 per cent.

The latest gains were seen across the island.

Prices in the core central region were at record levels, growing by 2.2 per cent on the previous month, and 8 per cent on the previous year.

The rest of the central region also saw prices set a new record, up 1.3 per cent on February and 11.4 per cent on the year before.

And private, non-landed homes outside the central region had prices appreciate by 1.3 per cent on the month before, for a yearly gain of 7 per cent.

Overall, March's showing marked a year-on-year price increase of 8.5 per cent, while the quarter-on-quarter rise for the first three months of 2018 stood at 3.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, resale volume swelled by 11.4 per cent to 1,310 units, compared with February, said SRX.

This is still 36.1 per cent lower than the peak in April 2010.

Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie's head of research and consultancy, said on Tuesday that core central region resale prices may have risen on pent-up demand from "savvy investors who are in search of value buys in the luxury segment".

Resale prices are expected to keep on going up in the coming months, she said, with sellers likely asking for higher prices amid higher demand from those who sold their homes en bloc and are looking for new abodes.

"As it seems, some en-bloc sellers are already purchasing a new home now before the completion of the en-bloc sales, as they expect replacement cost to increase significantly in the months ahead."