Singapore private home sales fall 30pc in October

Sales of private homes by developers fell 30 per cent last month from a year earlier, as property cooling measures kept enthusiasm low in the island's housing sector.

Data compiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed developers sold 546 homes last month, compared with 785 in October last year.

Two new project launches pulled the figure 60 per cent higher than the 341 homes sold in September, when sales had nearly halved from a year earlier.

Singapore introduced higher stamp duties and tighter lending since 2009 to cool homes prices.

“Weak market still prevails, it could mainly be due to the ongoing economic uncertainties that are now looming, apart from just the existing property cooling measures,” said Alice Tan, the head of Singapore research at consultancy Knight Frank.

She expects developers to sell 6,500 to 6,800 private homes this year, compared with about 7,300 last year.

Analysts say an interest rate rise in the United States is one factor that could prompt the government to review measures, which have particularly hit speculative and foreign demand.

Prices of private homes fell for the eighth consecutive quarter to 4½-year lows in the third quarter.