Driven by local buyers, non-Central Region private home resale prices rise for second straight month

Local buyers favouring resale private homes in suburban areas with comprehensive amenities drove resale prices in the Non-Central Region up by 0.5% month-on-month in January, marking the second consecutive monthly gain.

Flash estimates for the overall non-landed private residential resale price index in January showed that private home resale prices edged up by 0.3% month-on-month, moderating from the 0.7% growth recorded in the preceding month.

Excluding small apartments, resale prices of private homes in the Central Region remained flat, while those in the Non-Central Region rose 0.5% month-on-month; resale prices of small apartments inched up by 0.1% month-on-month.

Experts: Buyers Predominantly Local, Well-Appointed New Launches in Non-Central Region Bolster Resale Prices

The majority of resale buyers are locals who prefer living in well-facilitated Non-Central Region locations. New private residential launches in these areas have indirectly bolstered resale prices. In contrast, dampened by property cooling measures and a lack of new launches, resale activity in the Central Region remained tepid.

As for the more modest price increase in small apartments, beyond buyers' preferences for living space and amenities, such units typically command higher per-square-foot (psf) prices, leading buyers to favour larger layouts offering comparatively lower psf rates.

While a succession of property cooling measures has curbed sharp price increases, Singapore's land scarcity means that—barring major financial crises—local property prices generally trend upwards over time. Therefore, to better gauge trends in the local real estate market, attention should be focused on the rate of change. For instance, between January last year and January this year, month-on-month movements in the non-landed private residential price index have remained relatively stable.

Additionally, revised private resale data for last December indicated that overall non-landed private residential resale prices rose 0.7% month-on-month, easing slightly from the previously estimated 0.8% increase.