Singapore house prices fall, central bank offers homeowners mortgage relief

Property prices have declined 1.3 per cent this year, and the central bank has announced a freeze on mortgage payment and cuts to credit card rates

The latest loan relief adds to several other fiscal and monetary measures the city state is employing amid a coronavirus induced economic downturn

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A man jogs past blocks of private flats at Tanjong Rhu in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:36am, 1 Apr 2020Updated: 10:36am, 1 Apr 2020

House prices in Singapore fell this year as the coronavirus outbreak sent the economy into its steepest contraction in a decade.

Property values declined 1.2 per cent in the three months ended March 31, according to a preliminary estimate from the Urban Redevelopment Authority released on Wednesday. That compares to a 0.5 per cent gain in the fourth quarter.

With the city state limiting gatherings to a maximum 10 people, the new social distancing rules have also affected sales of some new units, with agents unable to conduct as many viewings as they normally could. In the resale market, some owners have also turned away potential buyers out of fear that they could pass on the virus.

Bracing for an economic contraction that could be the worst since independence in 1965, the government last week unveiled a second stimulus package that boosted assistance to the equivalent of 11 per cent of gross domestic product.

A view of private flats being built next to a public housing estate in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Meanwhile, its central bank said lenders will offer additional relief for consumers and companies battered by the sharp economic slowdown, including a freeze on mortgage and business loan payments and cuts to credit card rates.