Singapore home prices fell for the first time in three years in the second quarter, suggesting the market is cooling on the back of the latest property curbs.
Property values slid 0.4% from the previous three months, when they rose 3.3%, according to flash estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday. That’s the first decline since the first quarter of 2020.
Price momentum may finally be easing after a buoyant run that saw the city-state’s red-hot property market defy a global slowdown from London to Shanghai. To keep a lid on apartment prices, the government doubled stamp duties for foreign buyers in April to 60% — the highest among major markets. It also raised levies for second-home buyers.
“We believe the recent moderation in prices was driven by the latest round of property cooling measures in April, and we expect prices to edge up for the rest of the year,” Morgan Stanley analysts Wilson Ng and Derek Chang wrote in a note on Monday. The bank projected 5% price growth for the full year.
While prices have fallen, transaction volume increased by about 16% from the previous quarter, according to URA. Home sales reached a one-year high in May, as a supply crunch eased amid new development launches.
“Buying activities may persist in the second half of this year,” barring a global economic downturn, Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, said before the figures were released.
While much of Singapore’s property frenzy has been for private homes, an index of Housing & Development Board resale prices reached a new high in the first quarter. A public housing unit was resold for a record S$1.5 million ($1.1 million) in June.
