Private home prices rose 2.5% in 2019, much lower than 2018's 7.9%
Price increase fails to match 2018's more bouyant jump of 7.9%, URA flash data shows
Home prices rose overall last year but slower economic growth and tough cooling measures meant they struggled to match 2018's more buoyant pace.
Prices advanced by 2.5 per cent last year compared with a 7.9 per cent jump in 2018, data showed yesterday.
The steam certainly went out of the market late last year, with prices edging up just 0.3 per cent from the third to the fourth quarter following a far more robust increase of 1.3 per cent from the second quarter to the third.
Analysts say the slower pace of price rises is in tandem with the year-end holiday season and shows there is no excessive exuberance in the residential market.
Meanwhile, public housing owners finally have something to cheer about. The prices of Housing Board resale flats rose by 0.4 per cent in the final three months of 2019 compared with the third quarter, in what was the largest quarter-on-quarter increase last year, the latest public housing figures show.
Based on flash estimates, there was no change in resale flat prices for the whole of last year, according to HDB, which released the data yesterday. This means prices were stable compared with the full-year price drop of 0.9 per cent in 2018 over 2017.
Yesterday's Urban Redevelopment Authority flash data also showed that overall private home price gains were driven by landed homes.
Values in this segment rose 4 per cent from the third to the fourth quarter, after gaining 1 per cent in the previous quarter.
But prices of non-landed homes fell 0.7 per cent from the third to the fourth quarter. This followed a rise of 1.3 per cent from the second to the third quarter.
The decline was led by a 3.7 per cent drop in the prime or core central region, compared with a 2 per cent hike in the third quarter.
Prices in the fringe areas or rest of central region fell 1.4 per cent from the third to the fourth quarter. This followed a 1.3 per cent rise from the second to the third quarter.
But prices in the suburbs or outside central region held up, rising 2.9 per cent following a 0.8 per cent increase in the previous quarter.
Numbers will be updated on Jan 23, when the full set of statistics for the fourth quarter are released.
As for upcoming sales launches, HDB will launch some 16,000 to 17,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats for sale this year.
It will offer about 3,000 of such flats in Sembawang and Toa Payoh for this year's first BTO exercise next month, and another 3,700 BTO flats in Choa Chu Kang, Pasir Ris, Tampines and Tengah in May.
Among these, the flats in Choa Chu Kang are expected to have a shorter wait time.
More information is available on the HDB InfoWeb website.
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY PRISCA ANG
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