Condo resale prices slip in January: report

This is the first time it declined in 28 months. 

The overall condo resale price declined by 0.6% month-on-month in January, the first time it decreased in the past 28 months, the SRX and 99.co reported. 

“The spillover from the December 2022 school holidays and the start of school and post-leave-clearance work in January 2023: Potential homebuyers may hold off buying their condos until they feel more settled as work resumes. More workplaces have also required staff to return to the office in 2023,” Pow Ying Khuan, Head of Research, 99 Group, said.

“The Chinese New Year period in January 2023 is another factor in the slowdown in resale activity. With the loosening of restrictions, more families are able to do more home visits during the two-week period, which may see them putting off home viewings for the time being.”

Read more: HDB resale prices won’t change: PropertyGuru

The market also saw a decline in volumes transacted with only an estimated 519 units resold in January, representing a 22.6%MoM decrease.

“The slowdown in volume, which is 22.6% lower than in December, is reflective of this. However, with the loosening of restrictions for foreigners entering Singapore, and the strength of the Singapore dollar against foreign currencies (reflective of a stable economy and strong fiscal policy), we may draw higher resale activity in the coming months,” Khuan also said.

“The recent Singapore Budget policy of increasing housing grants for first-timer homebuyers for HDB resale properties may also see greater demand for resale HDB flats. This could push some second-timer homebuyers to look at resale condos instead.”