Last quarter’s private property prices rose a mere 0.5%, a much smaller increment than 3.4% from the previous quarter.
There was, however, a rise in prices over the last 3 quarters combined of 7.9% despite a slowdown in Q3.
Private property prices from last 3 quarters up 7.9%
Botanic Gardens View, Condo. Picture: iProperty
While July’s property cooling measures may have put a kink into the market’s recovery from 15 consecutive quarters of diminishing growth, analysts are less worried about their effects as compared to 2013’s curbs when the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) was implemented.
The TDSR has resulted in a 42.2% fall property prices in the third quarter of 2013.
Non-landed private property prices remained flat while landed property prices rose 2.3% in Q3.
In the city fringes, prices fell 1.3% due to developers lowering prices on some of their units to prevent paying penalties for unsold inventory after 5 years.
There were also more units launched in the city fringes. 63% of the 3,704 non-landed units launched island-wide were in the city fringes with a take-up of only 1,748 units.
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More private properties sold in Q3 and increasing interest in the luxury property market
8 St Thomas. Picture: Bukit Sembawang
Property prices in the Core Central Region (CCR) however rose 1.3% last quarter following a 0.9% rise in Q2.
Analysts consider this rise promising as buyers show increasing interest in and demand for luxury projects such as 8 St Thomas, New Futura and Martin Modern.
Sales volume also improved in Q3 with developers selling 3,012 new units compared with the 2,366 units in Q2. These figures exclude executive condominiums (ECs). Sales figures in the second quarter may have been lackluster due to the property cooling measures and the Hungry Ghost Festival.
In the current property market, with prices somewhat subdued, some buyers may find it an opportune time to acquire units for occupation or investment as future properties may be launched at even higher prices, considering the high costs developers have paid for land over the past few quarters.
The market could be seeing more new launches in the months ahead as buyer sentiment typically recovers within 3 months after the implementation of property cooling measures.
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