The resale prices of condominium units in Singapore witnessed a fifth consecutive quarterly growth between April and June, although the increase was at a gentler rate and with fewer units being sold.
According to a report by OrangeTee & Tie released on Tuesday, the prices slightly escalated by 0.6% in the second quarter of 2023, a contrast to the 2.9% hike in the initial three months of the year.
Year-on-year, there was a 7.8% increment in prices, as detailed in the report, utilizing information from the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Realis property statistics portal.
For Q2 2023, the number of resold units lessened by 1.5%, totaling 2,376 transactions, compared to 2,413 units in the preceding quarter.
With more condominiums projected to be completed, OrangeTee & Tie anticipates an uptick in sales activity for the latter half of the year.
The report stated, “An influx of newly finished units will drive the housing supply to its highest in seven years, possibly aiding in the steadying of property prices.”
During the said period, resale prices in the city’s peripheral regions rose by 2.7%, and suburban areas experienced a 2.8% growth. However, core central Singapore saw a decrease of 0.8%.
The most significant reduction in resale volumes (17.7%) occurred in core central Singapore, with 422 units sold, a decline from 513 in Q1.
Meanwhile, the suburbs saw a 0.7% dip in volumes, and the city fringes witnessed an increase of 8.9%.
In Q2 2023, suburban condos constituted 50.4% of all resale transactions, with city fringe homes at 31.8%, and core central Singapore accounting for the remaining 17.8%.
The report from OrangeTee & Tie also highlighted The Bencoolen in Rochor as the top-selling resale condo with 31 units sold at an average price of $1,622 per sq ft (psf), followed by High Park Residences and Petit Jervois.
Around 30.1% of condos resold in the quarter were priced between $1 million and $1.5 million, with units between $1.5 million and $2 million making up 23.9%, indicating the current favorable price range for resale condos.
Lee Sze Teck, a senior research director at Huttons Asia, attributed the rise in Q2 to a decline in fixed-rate loans for finished properties and predicted an 8% price increase throughout 2023 due to the completion of more homes.
He also mentioned, “The prevailing high-interest-rate scenario might limit the resale transaction volume to roughly 11,000 units in 2023,” compared to 11,949 units in 2022.
Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, expressed optimism for the resilience of the resale condo market for the rest of 2023, given the sustained high rents.
He further added, “With Housing Board resale prices escalating more rapidly than private properties, flat proprietors are likely to leverage the existing market conditions to upgrade to a condominium.”