http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/...units-20141112

Slight rise in prices of resale condo units

Published on Nov 12, 2014 1:24 AM

By Jacqueline Woo


PRICES of resale condominium units picked up slightly last month after generally trending lower over recent months.

But consultants are reluctant to herald the latest data as a sign of recovery in the ailing market since sales volume was low.

Prices of non-landed private residential units inched up 0.4 per cent last month compared with September, according to flash estimates from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) yesterday.

This was backed by a 0.6 per cent price rise in the suburbs and the "rest of central" region, which includes Bishan, Toa Payoh, Little India, Queenstown and Geylang.

Prices in prime districts, however, fell for the second straight month by 0.3 per cent.

Mr Wong Xian Yang, manager of research and consultancy at OrangeTee, noted the low sales volume. Only 451 private condo resale transactions were sealed in October, against 461 in September. This 2.2 per cent slide in monthly volume still points to a "downward trend".

He added: "For a better sense of the future price direction of the market, it is better to use quarterly data where more transaction data is available."

Overall, prices have fallen 5.2 per cent since the most recent peak in January, said SRX.

Among districts with increased resale activity, District 14, which includes Geylang and Paya Lebar, exerted the most downward pressure on prices in October. Buyers paid a median of $41,000 below past transacted prices of comparable units, the highest level of this widely used indicator.

This was followed by Districts 12 and 11, which logged transactions that were $40,000 and $31,000 lower than the market value, respectively. District 12 includes Balestier and District 11 covers the Newton area.

Executive director of research and consultancy at SLP International Nicholas Mak believes the start of a price recovery in the private residential market is still some way off.

"There is no change in the market fundamentals that have resulted in the market weakness. The cooling measures and TDSR framework are still in place and the Government had mentioned that it would not remove these curbs any time soon."

Still, Mr Mak noted that prices and resale volumes "have not seen much volatility" in the last six months, but instead declined at a slower and steadier rate.

"There haven't been any new policy changes which would evoke a big movement in prices and volumes," he said. "It's also likely that the market is getting accustomed to the cooling measures that have been put in place."

And Mr Wong said: "Barring any changes in housing policies, a rebound in prices is not expected ... in the short term. We expect prices to continue to edge lower."

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