The overall Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) increased marginally last month by 0.1% m-o-m after falling for three consecutive months. Conducted by the National University of Singapore, the SRPI is a transaction-based index that tracks the monthly price movements of non-landed private properties in the country.

The rates of change for the sub-indices are very small, likely due to the thin transaction volume in December due to the holiday season, says Nicholas Mak, executive director at ZACD Group. The three sub-indices cover transactions in the central region (excluding small units), in non-central regions (excluding small units), and for small units (of less than 506 sq ft).

The central region index rose by 0.2% m-o-m as the relatively softer prices of properties in the prime districts continue to attract some buyers, Mak says. He attributes the overall 0.1% increase to a “statistical blip” which does not signal the start of a price recovery.

This year, the overall SRPI will see more monthly declines as the private residential market grapples with the effects of the latest property cooling measures and expected slower economic growth, Mak says. He expects the overall index to decrease by 4% to 7% y-o-y for the whole of 2019.