[SINGAPORE] Amid the latest official flash estimate showing a slower quarter-on-quarter increase in private home prices in Q1 2013 than in Q4 last year, some property consultants believe that the latest cooling package in January will have a more lingering impact than the six preceding rounds.
However, prices in the widely watched Outside Central Region (OCR), home to suburban condos, are unlikely to fall this year given the strength of the first-time home-buyer pool, say some analysts.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) flash estimates showed its price index for non-landed private homes in OCR still managed to rise 1.7 per cent quarter on quarter in the first quarter, though this was a much slower pace of increase compared with the 3.8 per cent jump seen in Q4. The increase for Core Central Region (which includes Singapore’s choicest residential locations) too slowed to 0.4 per cent in Q1, from a 0.7 per cent rise in Q4. In Rest of Central Region (which refers to city-fringe locations), the index was flat in the first quarter after climbing 0.9 per cent in Q4.
URA’s overall private home price index inched up 0.5 per cent quarter on quarter in Q1, a slower rise than Q4’s 1.8 per cent increase.