Private home prices fall record 13.8% in Q1

Tags: Urban Redevelopment Authority

Wednesday, 01 April 2009 14:18

Singapore’s home prices plunged 13.8% q-o-q in the first quarter, the most in at least 16 years, as the global financial crisis and a recession deterred buyers, reported Bloomberg.
The price index of private residential property fell to 140.3 points in the three months ended March 31 from 162.8 in the previous quarter, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said in an e-mailed statement today. That is the largest drop since the first quarter of 1993, according to the earliest data provided by the government agency.
Residential prices have retreated for three straight quarters, ending a four-year rally. The island-state’s trade ministry has forecast the economy may shrink by as much as 5% this year, the largest contraction on record, amid the worsening global recession.
Prices for private homes in the so-called core central area dropped 15% last quarter and retreated 17% elsewhere in central Singapore, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority. They fell 7.5% across other parts of the island, today’s statement showed.
The data is based on transactions in the first 10 weeks of the quarter, the government agency said. It will provide an update in four weeks.
City Developments, Singapore’s second-largest property company, said on Feb 26 profit dropped 20% last year amid the weakening real estate market. The company has delayed the sale of two developments even as it continued building and will defer construction on new projects to cut costs, it added.
The FTSE Straits Times Real Estate Index, which tracks 30 developers and property trusts listed in Singapore, has declined 8.2% this year, extending last year’s 58% slump.