Singapore's Residential Property Market Cools

Tom Burroughes

4 April 2019

Prices of private homes in Singapore slipped in the first three months of this year, with prime areas of the city-state leading the decline - suggesting that government cooling measures are bearing fruit, according to official data.

As Singapore remains a sought-after wealth management centre, and the high price of residential accomodation is an issue which private bankers wrestle with, the data points to some easing of price pressures.

Overall, the private residential property index decreased by 0.9 points from 149.6 points in the fourth quarter of 2018, and by 148.7 points in Q1 2019. This represents a decrease of 0.6 per cent, compared with the 0.1 per cent decrease in the previous quarter, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said.

Prices of non-landed private residential properties fell by 2.9 per cent in the Core Central Region, compared with the 1.0 per cent decrease in the previous quarter. Prices in the rest of the Central Region decreased by 0.2 per cent.

Singapore's measures, such as higher stamp duties for foreigners buying residential property, have weighed on the market. As with many other wealth management hubs, such as London, Geneva and New York, high residential prices have been a steady market feature.