Private home prices drop 0.7% in Q3 as buyers find cheaper options

They opt for resale condo units and new lower-priced private homes in suburbs

- Grace Leong

Private residential property prices fell 0.7 per cent in the third quarter, reversing from 0.9 per cent growth in the second quarter, as buyers flocked to cheaper resale condos and new suburban private homes that were launched at lower prices compared with those in other submarkets.

The 0.7 per cent decline in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) overall private home price index is the biggest quarterly decline since the first quarter of 2020 when prices shed 1 per cent, but an improvement from flash estimates of a 1.1 per cent drop.

Overall prices in the first three quarters of 2024 rose 1.6 per cent, significantly slower than the 3.9 per cent gain over the same period in 2023, according to URA data released on Oct 25.

Landed home prices fell 3.4 per cent in the third quarter after a 1.9 per cent increase in the preceding quarter.

Non-landed home prices rose 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, compared with a 0.6 per cent gain in the previous quarter.

Mr Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at Singapore Realtors Inc, attributed the overall price drop to a moderation in demand for prime district homes, which saw fewer transactions priced at $10 million and above.

The prime district non-landed market shed 1.1 per cent, extending a 0.3 per cent drop in the previous quarter.

The price growth in the city fringe submarket moderated to 0.8 per cent in the third quarter from 1.6 per cent, and the suburban market remained unchanged, following a 0.2 per cent uptick in the previous quarter.