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S'pore private home prices are Asia's second-worst performers
A general view of Marina Bay (foreground), Sheares bridge (C), private housing (background) and national stadium (dome) in Singapore on November 20, 2014
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A general view of Marina Bay (foreground), Sheares bridge (C), private housing (background) and national stadium (dome) in Singapore on November 20, 2014. (AFP/Roslan Rahman) (foreground), Sheares bridge (C), private housing (background) and national stadium (dome) in Singapore on November 20, 2014. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
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span class="inline inline-center">A general view of Marina Bay (foreground), Sheares bridge (C), private housing (background) and national stadium (dome) in Singapore on November 20, 2014. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
Singapore posted the second-highest drop in private home prices among Asian countries in the last quarter, coming behind only China, according to Knight Frank's Global House Price Index.
Released on Friday, the report shows that private home prices in Singapore fell by 3.2 per cent in the April-June quarter from the same period a year ago. Prices in China fell by 6 per cent.
Overall prices of private non-landed homes in Singapore could decline by 3-4 per cent on a yearly basis by the fourth quarter, Alice Tan, Knight Frank Singapore's director and head of consultancy and research, said in a statement.
"Singapore's continual fall in non-landed private home prices demonstrates persistent weakness of the market, with prospective buyers remaining cautious against the backdrop of existing cooling measures and in anticipation of further price correction," she said.
"Looking ahead towards the end of this year, Singapore's private home market is expected to face downward pressure both in price and rental performance, with the combination of factors including the rising completed supply of private homes, impending hike in interest rates, macroeconomic uncertainties and continual slowdown in Singapore's economy."
Knight Frank's Global House Price Index tracks the home prices of 56 residential markets across the globe.
According to the study, globally, prices increased only marginally in the year to June 2015, rising by only 0.1 per cent amid lingering concerns over the euro zone economy and jitters in global stock markets among others.
But the Hong Kong property market continued to defy government cooling measures with prices up 20.7 per cent in the second quarter.
"With markets increasingly interconnected throughout the region, economic concerns in China will continue to cause jitters throughout Asia-Pacific," Nicholas Holt, Knight Frank's head of research for the Asia-Pacific region, said in the statement.
Home prices rose 7 per cent in Australia, making it the third-best performer in the region, while Indonesia recorded a gain of 6 per cent.(++++)
