The Straits Times, 22 July 2022, Fri 5:23 PM

By Grace Leong

SINGAPORE – Private home prices rose 3.5 per cent in the second quarter, underpinned by a sharp turnaround in city fringe home prices and the continued strength of the landed market.

This is higher than the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) flash estimate of 3.2 per cent and up from a 0.7 per cent gain in the first quarter.

Well-located projects saw strong take-up, with some buyers locking in mortgage rates ahead of further hikes, Ms Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for South-east Asia, said.

Strong rental growth is also supporting property investment yields, she added.

But the price momentum may not be sustainable as rising interest rates and macroeconomic headwinds could hinder affordability and as more supply will hit the market this year.

New home supply was tight in the second quarter, with 15,805 uncompleted unsold units and 1,701 unsold executive condominium (EC) units. But the situation should ease as around 30,700 units (including ECs) should be completed this year and next year – almost three times the 10,400 units completed in 2020 and last year.

Data released by URA on Friday morning (July 22) showed that the increase in the overall private home price index was led by non-landed properties, whose prices rose 3.6 per cent compared with a 0.3 per cent drop in the prior quarter.

This was due to strong take-up at Piccadilly Grand (Northumberland Road) and Liv@MB (at Mountbatten) in the second quarter, which set new price benchmarks due to higher land prices, analysts said. Piccadilly Grand sold 324 units at a median price of $2,175 psf in the second quarter, while Liv@MB shifted 231 units at a median price of $2,408 psf.

Rising construction costs and land prices, coupled with low unsold inventory levels, have fuelled more optimistic pricing of new launches, they added.

Read more at: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/singapore-private-home-prices-rise-35-in-q2-shrugging-off-cooling-measures