Singapore home prices fall for 1st time in 3 years as red-hot pace slows

Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed private property values slid 0.2 per cent from the previous three months, when they rose 3.3 per cent

With more housing supply in the pipeline, analysts estimate that overall home prices will continue to stabilise

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In the first six months of this year, Singapore’s private home prices have edged up 3.1 per cent. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 1:15pm, 28 Jul 2023

Singapore home prices fell for the first time in three years in the second quarter, adding to signs that the property boom is starting to moderate.

Private property values slid 0.2 per cent from the previous three months, when they rose 3.3 per cent, final Urban Redevelopment Authority figures showed on Friday. That compares with a preliminary estimate of a 0.4 per cent drop, and confirms the first decline since the start of 2020.

Price momentum is finally easing after a buoyant run that saw Singapore’s red-hot property market defy a global slowdown from Paris to Shanghai. To keep a lid on flat values, the government doubled stamp duties for foreign buyers in April to 60 per cent – the highest among major markets. It also raised levies for second-home buyers.

The tax hikes and elevated interest rates “may have reined in price growth as homebuyers purchasing for investment become price resistant and adopt a wait-and-see attitude,” said Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.

He downgraded his 2023 outlook for Singapore’s private home price growth to 3 per cent to 5 per cent, versus the original 5 per cent to 7 per cent range projected at the end of last year.

Despite the decline in values, developers sold 2,127 private residential units in the second quarter, compared with 1,256 sold in the previous quarter, due to more new launches.