Singapore home prices fall further, but still to hit bottom as the city state grapples with an unprecedented recession

A two-month lockdown imposed in the city state to contain the coronavirus outbreak led to a 1.1 per cent decline in home prices in the second quarter

Market observers expect home prices to fall by up to 5 per cent by the end of the year

2-MIN READ2-MIN

The coronavirus pandemic hit Singapore property sales in the second quarter. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:42pm, 1 Jul 2020Updated: 6:42pm, 1 Jul 2020

Singapore home prices fell by the most in 15 quarters in the three months to June, with analysts warning that the worst is yet to come as the coronavirus pandemic batters the Southeast Asian nation’s economy.

Prices of private homes dropped 1.1 per cent in the second quarter, widening from the 1 per cent drop seen from January to March, according to data released by Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday.

It fell short of the 1.5 per cent decline in the third quarter of 2016. Singapore's home price had jumped 11.3 per cent between 2017 and 2019 after posting a 3.1 per cent drop in 2016.

“Developers have been pricing units sensitively, while in the resale market sellers are more realistic with their asking prices,” said Ismail Gafoor, chief executive of PropNex, a major property brokerage agency in Singapore.

The nearly two-month long lockdown imposed in Singapore since April 7, when the city state was dealing with a resurgence of the Covid-19 disease, forced developers to close show flats and put a stop to home viewings, which took a toll on sales.

Developers sold 1,343 new homes in the second quarter, a decline of nearly 38 per cent from the previous quarter, while only 725 units changed hands in the secondary private home market, some 65 per cent lower than the first quarter, according to the URA.