Private flat resale prices dip in October

[reporter2]

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...dip-in-october

Private flat resale prices dip in October

Nov 12, 2015

Prices down 0.6% from Sept and 2.6% year on year, reflecting continued weak demand

Rennie Whang


Resale prices of private apartments slipped again last month, according to flash estimates by SRX Property out yesterday.

It noted that values were down 0.6 per cent last month from September and also revised September's price change from a 0.1 per cent fall to a 0.3 per cent decrease.

Experts attributed this faster rate of decline to monthly fluctuations.

Resale prices overall have fallen just 2.6 per cent compared with October last year, an indication that sellers are not under immense pressure to take any offer, said Mr Eugene Lim, ERA Realty key executive officer.

But Mr Nicholas Mak, SLP International executive director, noted that while the resale price indexes have edged up and down over the past 12 months, none of the increases has lasted beyond two straight months.

"This illustrates the current state of the private residential property market in Singapore, which is still suffering from weak demand and market sentiments that are chiefly caused by the Government (cooling measures)," he added.

Overall resale non-landed prices have fallen about 7.6 per cent from January last year, SRX Property data shows, with far steeper declines when compared with 2013, when values were at their recent highs.

Those in the core central region are down 10.6 per cent from October 2013, while suburban resale prices are down 9.3 per cent from June 2013.

City-fringe resale prices have fared better, falling 5 per cent from August 2013.

This relative strength could be because city-fringe properties are in demand from both investors and owner-occupiers, said Mr Mak. Few new launches in the region have also encouraged people to buy resale.

But the city fringe is still only performing marginally better than other areas while the number of resale transactions is still lower than the period before the Total Debt Servicing Ratio came in, he added, noting: "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

There were an estimated 505 private non-landed resale transactions last month, up 9.8 per cent from September and similar to the same month last year.

Owner-occupiers are increasingly turning to the resale market due to lower prices, higher bargaining power and the comparatively larger sizes, noted ERA Realty's Mr Lim.

Marginal resale price declines are expected to continue but there could be a drastic price fall - of at least 5 per cent in a quarter - sometime next year, said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.

By early next year, there should be more property owners who have finished the four-year holding period imposed by the Seller's Stamp Duty, especially those who rushed in to buy new condos from 2010 to 2012.

"Investors who bought suburban condos and (are now faced with) weak leasing demand may be more willing to cut prices," said Mr Ong.

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...wer-prices-srx

Condo resale volume up in Oct but at lower prices: SRX

Almost 10% jump in volume indicates home purchases mainly driven by attractive pricing, says analyst

By Lee Meixian

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@LeeMeixianBT

Nov 12, 2015


NON-LANDED private residential resale prices fell 0.6 per cent in October after slipping 0.3 per cent in September.

Transactions rose. Resale volume was up 9.8 per cent to about 505 condominium and apartment units, compared with 460 units resold in September.

This was according to SRX Property's flash estimates released on Wednesday.

R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng said this indicates it was mainly attractive pricing which drove home purchases.

"Buyers are generally adopting an opportunity mindset, where prices have softened and are more attractive. Buyers remain price-sensitive due to the TDSR (the total debt servicing ratio framework) which may be set to stay, and they are unwilling to accede to high asking prices by sellers."

Another reason for the higher transactions, he said, could be that buyers and sellers wanted to close deals before the quiet year-end period - when there would be fewer property seekers and properties available for viewing as sellers and buyers, as well as agents, go on holiday.

All the regions (city, city fringe, and the suburbs) posted a price drop - of 1.1 per cent, 0.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. Year-on-year, prices this October dropped 2.6 per cent from October 2014.

Transactions-wise, resale volume was flat, compared with 504 units resold in October 2014.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim noted that prices have decreased only by a marginal 1.7 per cent since the beginning of the year, according to SRX Property data.

"This small price decrease indicates that sellers are not under tremendous pressure to cut prices in order to sell.

"Moving forward, we expect the gradual price decrease to continue into 2016, as the high number of completions and policy measures continue to weigh down prices. The overall price decline in 2015 is expected to be around 2.5 per cent."

Mr Lim also observed that more buyers are turning to the resale market when looking to purchase a home for their own occupation, given the lower prices, their higher bargaining power, and the larger sizes of the older units compared to newly launched condominiums.

Some 4,987 resale units have been transacted in 2015, according to SRX Property. Overall for 2015, the number should hit 6,000 units, Mr Lim said.

As for SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak, he believes that the overall private residential property price index could drop by 3.8-4.5 per cent year-on-year in 2015, and another 3-5 per cent in 2016, barring policy tweaks.