Home Prices Slip In Q1

Source : The Business Times, April 1, 2009

THE pick-up in sales volume of new homes in the first quarter did little to stem the slide in private home prices.

In the HDB resale market, prices also fell - for the first time since

Location-wise, the biggest price fall of 17.2 per cent for non-landed homes was witnessed in the rest of the central region, and not the very core areas, where prices slipped by 15.2 per cent. Outside the central region, prices also went down by 7.5 per cent. --NP PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Private home prices declined by 13.8 per cent as the gloomy economic climate took its toll in the first three months of the year, following a 6.1 per cent plunge in the fourth quarter of last year, according to flash estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday.

Location-wise, the biggest price fall of 17.2 per cent for non-landed homes was witnessed in the rest of the central region, and not the very core areas, where prices slipped by 15.2 per cent. Outside the central region, prices also went down by 7.5 per cent.

But sales of new private homes were strong, with the market estimating first quarter sales at some 2,000 units or more, compared with sales of 4,264 new units in the whole of last year.

Meanwhile, prices of HDB resale flats slipped 0.6 per cent, compared with a 1.4 per cent climb in the fourth quarter, according to early estimates from HDB.

The URA and HDB estimates will be updated in four weeks' time. More details will also be made available then.