Private home resale prices up 0.1% in Sept

Private home resale prices up 0.1% in Sept

Oct 11, 2017


Resale prices of non-landed private homes in Singapore inched up 0.1 per cent last month compared with August, flash estimates from SRX Property showed yesterday.

There were fewer resale transactions in September, when the property market might have felt the effects of the Hungry Ghost Month.

SRX also revised up its resale price increase for August to 0.9 per cent from an initial estimate of 0.7 per cent.

Private resale prices have been on a recovery path since November last year, albeit a more muted one than for new private homes, en-bloc or government land sales.

Compared with a year ago, private resale prices in September are 4.3 per cent higher, SRX data showed.

This came on the back of price increases across the regions, led by a 7 per cent rise in the city-fringe. Prices were up 4.6 per cent in the prime districts and 2.3 per cent in the suburban areas.

So far this year, resale prices have gone up by 3.2 per cent.

In terms of sales volume, September saw a 10.9 per cent drop in resale transactions to 1,162 from August's 1,304.

But transactions were 64.8 per cent higher compared with the 705 non-landed homes resold in September last year.

In another upbeat sign for the private resale market, SRX's median transaction over X-value (TOX) - which measures if buyers are overpaying or underpaying its computer-generated market value - rose to $5,000 from zero in August and July.

For districts with more than 10 resale transactions, District 3, which includes Alexandra and Commonwealth, posted the highest median TOX of $38,000.

District 4, which is made up of HarbourFront and Telok Blangah, posted a TOX of negative $104,000.

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SRX Property's flash estimates for September showed its overall resale price index for non-landed private homes inching up just 0.1 per cent over August while transaction volumes shrank 10.9 per cent. However, market watchers shrugged off slower sales as the Hungry Ghost Month effect.

ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak said the 142-unit decline in SRX's estimated resale volume for non-landed private homes to 1,162 units in September from August's 1,304 units is not alarming as the September figure is about the same as in June and July this year. This year's Hungry Ghost festival ended on Sept 19.

Also noteworthy is that based on SRX's estimate, the September 2017 resale volume figure was 64.8 per cent higher year on year, suggesting that the market is on the mend and residential prices are likely to appreciate further, said Edmund Tie & Co head of research Lee Nai Jia.

Agreeing, OrangeTee's head of research and consultancy, Wong Xian Yang, expects resale volumes to continue growing on a year-on-year basis in the coming months - "as demand moves back into the market to ride the expected upturn in the property market".

For the whole of this year, says Mr Mak of ZACD, the private residential resale volume (comprising landed as well as non-landed properties) could rise to about 12,000-14,000 units - reflecting an increase of 52 to 77 per cent from last year's 7,901 units.

SRX Property's flash estimate for September showed that its overall resale price index for non-landed private homes rose 0.1 per cent month-on-month, following a revised 0.9 per cent month-on-month gain in August 2017.

The index is up 4.3 per cent year on year from September 2016 but 4.1 per cent lower than the peak in January 2014.

SRX Property's breakdown of year-on-year price performance by region showed that its sub-index for the city fringe or Rest of Central Region (RCR) was the best performer, expanding 7 per cent, followed by a 4.6 per cent gain for the prime area or Core Central Region. In the suburbs or Outside Central Region, the index rose 2.3 per cent.

Mr Wong of OrangeTee offered a possible reason for RCR posting the strongest growth. The eye-popping land prices over the past year for both collective sales (for example, Eunosville and Amber Park) as well as Government Land Sale sites (Stirling Road and two land parcels in the Woodleigh/Bidadari area) in RCR could be spurring those who are selling their private apartments or condo units in RCR to start raising their asking prices.