Singapore property prices to double by 2030: Morgan Stanley

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S property prices are expected to turn the corner next year, ending a protracted downtrend since late 2013, and to double by 2030, Morgan Stanley says in a note.

This is based on its forecast that home prices will rise by 5 per cent each year on a per square foot (psf) basis from 2018 to 2030.

The bullish report issued by the bank on Wednesday dismisses concerns raised by property market bears who flagged slower population growth, an ageing population and a structural growth slowdown as weighing on the long-term property market outlook.

"We disagree, and in fact, we expect home prices to double by 2030," five Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in the report.

But they noted that with developers likely to continue "right-sizing" units, an estimated one per cent decline in average home size in square feet each year will translate to an average 4 per cent annual growth in prices per unit, hence keeping pace with the anticipated incom…