The latest private resale condominium sales figures seem to slightly challenge industry experts’ expectations of the market bottoming out this year.
February’s resale condominium prices fell 0.3 per cent following a 0.1 per cent in January from December last year, indicating further decline in the private non-landed resale property sector. While the numbers could mean the market has yet to bottom out, the slower rate of decline does point towards a state of stabilisation.
The biggest impact was felt in the central region (made up of districts 1 to 4, 9 and 10, the financial district and Sentosa Cove) where a 1 per cent fall was registered following a hopeful 0.5 per cent rise in January. Even in the small-apartments (units 506 sq ft and below) segment, prices fell 0.6 per cent. Resale units outside of the central region however fared better, coming back up top with a 0.3 per cent rise following a 0.6 per cent fall from December.
Though market sentiment has been picking up, the overall economic outlook and rising interest rates may not be enough to completely turn the market on its head. Recent tweaks in the property cooling measures may give the industry a little push towards to the direction of recovery, but property analysts are still expecting a 3 to 4 per cent price-decline by end of 2017.
