By now, it’s no longer a secret that the property market in Singapore is following an upward trend. Everything started last year and it continues to evolve in the same direction this year as well. Thus, as a result, private homes in the country recorded a 3.1% increase in prices in the first quarter of 2018. The information was released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority or URA, at the beginning of April. If we are to compare these recent numbers with the increase that was recorded in the past quarter, which was of only 0.8%, we will notice a significant difference. As expected, the private property index increased as well, gaining an additional 4.3 points, rising this way from 138.7 points, which was its status in the last quarter in 2017, to 143.0 points, in Q1 of the current year.
The prices of the private properties that are non-landed rose even higher, especially in the Core Central Region, gaining no less than 5%, which is significantly higher than in the past quarter, when the increase was of only 1.4%. Even if the increase in the rest of the regions is smaller, it still happened, as the Rest of the Central Region recorded a rise of 1.1%, which is an improvement since the 0.4% increase recorded in the last quarter, and a 3.8% increase in the Outside Central Region, which is more consistent having in mind that in the past quarter the increase in this area was of only 0.8%.
According to the statements of Ismail Gafoor, who is the CEO of Propnex Realty, both investors and home buyers are finally changing their attitudes and taking proper action. This aspect was encouraged by the continuous exuberance that took place on the property market, represented by aggressive bids for land and too many collective sales. The increase of 3.1% is a record growth, as he mentioned as well, and the prices are not going to stall either, as it is expected for the increase to continue in 2018. Forecasts state that by the time we reach the half of 2018, the price increase should reach 5%, together with an increase in the volume of transactions. Also, Mr. Gafoor added that during 2018, the prices will rise anywhere between 8 to 10% until the end of the year. This is due to the fact that Singapore’s new launches on the property market will have higher points for their prices, a phenomenon that will push the prices of existent launches and resale properties higher as well.
Researchers in this domain agree with Mr. Gafoor, as the Head of Research at the company Colliers International, Ms. Tricia Song, confirmed that the expected rise in the price of private homes is of 8% this year, in spite of the fact that an earlier forecast mentioned an increase of only 5%. Thus, at this point, a further increase of 5% is expected to meet the current estimates. Ms. Song believes that the fear of home buyers to miss the best offers of the market is pushing the prices up, as they are willing to pay the price, even if it is higher, to get what they desire. She also said that everybody has positive thoughts about Singapore’s property market, which is expected to improve together with the country’s GDP.
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