The overall Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) grew 0.7% m-o-m in September, based on flash estimates (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Flash estimates for the overall Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) released by the National University of Singapore's Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS) on Oct 30 indicate that prices of resale private non-landed residential properties in Singapore grew 0.7% m-o-m in September.
This comes as overall consumer prices climbed 0.5% m-o-m in September, based on the Singapore Consumer Price Index. The SRPI tracks and measures the price movements of a basket of 759 non-landed private residential projects completed between October 2003 and September 2021.
The SRPI sub-index for the Central Region (excluding small units) grew by 0.8% m-o-m in September while the sub-index for the non-Central Region (excluding small units) increased by 0.6% m-o-m. The sub-index for small units increased by 1.2% m-o-m in September.
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The final overall SRPI for August was adjusted to reflect an increase of 1% m-o-m, up from its flash estimate that indicated a growth of 0.7%. For the sub-index for the Central Region (excluding small units), final figures for August show a 0.9% m-o-m climb, marginally higher than the flash estimate of a 0.8% increase.
For the non-Central Region (excluding small units), the sub-index was adjusted to reflect a 1% increase, higher than the 0.7% increase indicated in the flash estimates. For the sub-index for small units, the figure remained the same as the flash estimate growth of 0.3% m-o-m.
Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, observes that the slower price growth in resale condo markets indicated by the SRPI in September is likely due to the higher-for-longer interest rates which have capped gains for sellers. “Buyers are also resisting higher prices because of the high interest rates,” he adds.
In its report for the September SRPI, IREUS also highlights data on buyer profiles in the resale condo market. In the last 12 months, Singaporeans accounted for, on average, about 74.6% of resale condo purchases, followed by Singapore permanent residents at about 21.4%, and foreigners at about 3.7%.
In terms of volume, flash data indicated non-landed private residential sales fell 28% m-o-m in September. In comparison, condo resale volume grew 2.5% m-o-m in August.
Compared with the recent high in March this year, the number of non-landed private homes purchased by Singaporeans, Singapore permanent residents and foreigners in the resale market fell by 37.4%, 46.2% and 86.7% respectively in September.
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The number of condo units purchased by foreigners on the resale market in September was eight units, 56% down from the 18 units in the month before.
Huttons’ Lee expects the high interest rate environment and ongoing economic uncertainties to continue underpinning cautious sentiments, which, in turn, will likely exert downward pressure on the resale condo market for the rest of the year. “Prices are estimated to increase by at most 8% in 2023,” he adds.