Chart of the Day: Property prices down 7% from 2009-2013 median

Further curbs easing is possible if home prices keep falling.

With uneven economic growth, RHB Research expects other easing measures if risks to the domestic economy materialise. It cited the drop of more than 7% in non-landed property prices when compared to the 2009-2013 median.

RHB also noted the possibility of bankruptcy laws being amended to allow struggling companies to stay afloat.

Here's more from RHB:

The SG$ has appreciated by 3.3% against the US$ year-to-date. Going forward, whilst the SG$ is expected to remain strong in 2017, relative to ASEAN peers, domestic concerns could mean that the chances of the SG$ trading at the higher end of the SGD$ nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) remains low. Hence, we project for the SG$ to trade towards 1.42 vis-à-vis the US$ by the end of this year.

On that note, the recent pick-up in export outlook, stabilising Chinese yuan (CNY) and Malaysian ringgit (MYR), and less-hawkish-than-expected comments from the US Federal Reserve have eased pressure on the MAS to loosen monetary policy in April. This is especially so since inflation is expected to remain manageable.

That said, economic growth is still uneven, we could see other easing measures if risks to the domestic economy such as below, materialise, looking at these factors:
i. Non-performing loans have yet to peak. Upon peak NPLs, this could disrupt access to funds made available to offshore oil & gas operators, whilst bankruptcy laws could get amended to allow troubled companies to continue operations;
ii. Non-landed property prices have fallen more than 7% from their 2009-2013 median. Further easing of property purchase curbs could be a possibility, if house prices continue to fall.