Private home prices increase 5% QoQ in Q4 2021

URA flash estimate also showed prices for the whole year rose by 10.6%.

Prices of private residential property increased 8.3 points or 5% in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, bringing the index 173.6 points, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) flash estimate.

The private residential property index in the fourth quarter rose at a faster pace than the 1.1% rise posted in the previous quarter to 165.3 points. 

For the whole year, prices rose by 10.6% from a 2.2% increase in 2020, URA said.

The URA noted that the flash estimates were compiled up to mid-December before the implementation of cooling measures on 16 December 2021.

OrangeTee said the price index for 2021 has “reached a historical high” and marks record prices for both landed properties and non-landed property prices and also marks a record for the Outside Central Region (OCR) and Rest of Central Region (RCR). Prices for landed properties and non-landed prices for OCR and RCR. 

Landed property prices rose 3.7% from the previous quarter to 196.6 points, whilst overall non-landed property prices increased 5.4% from the third quarter to 168.5 points. 

Prices of non-landed private residential properties in the Core Central Region (CCR) inched up by 2.5% during the fourth quarter from a 0.5% decrease in the third quarter. 

Prices on non-landed property in the RCR rose 7.3% during the period compared to a 2.6% increase in the previous quarter. For the OCR, prices increased by 5.4%, following a 0.1% decrease in the third quarter.

“For the whole of 2021, prices in CCR, RCR, OCR increased by 3.7%, 16.9% and 8.4% respectively,” it said.

Huttons Asia said the “excellent sale results” seen in the launch of several projects such as Jervois Mansion, CanningHill Piers and The Commodore in October and November supported the increase in prices.

“Interest in landed homes including (Good Class Bungalow) continued unabated in Q4 2021, pushing landed homes prices up by 3.7%. Wealth made from the financial markets including cryptocurrencies are enabling many first-timers to enter the private market. Some baby boomers are also helping their children to buy their first home,” it said.

It added that there may be up to 43 private residential launches of 5,507 units in 2022, 21.4% of which are in the CCR, 3.37% in the RCR, and 41.3% are in OCR.

“Nevertheless the market remains supply-led. The lower volume of homes launched for sale in 2022 will result in lower new home sales. The new home market may see sales between 8,000 and 9,000 units while prices may move up to 3% in 2022 on the back of higher construction costs,” it said.

Ohmyhome, meanwhile, said there were five big-ticket transactions of more than $15m during the fourth quarter whilst there were none during the previous quarter.

For 2022, Ohmyhome expects demand for new sales segment to be subdued in the first half as developers might reconsider launch dates and readjust pricing.

“While, for private new home sales–with a dwindling inventory of unsold units, in view of the cooling measures - developers are likely to space out their launches and intermittently release units over several months to maintain prices,” it said.

It also expects overall private property prices growth to slow down with the price index hovering around 1% to 2% during the first six months of the year.

OrangeTee said prices of private homes “may stabilise” next year and “rise ate a much slower pace up to 3% compared to 2022 after new cooling measures are implemented,

“For instance, price growth moderated from 7.9%% in 2018 to 2.7% in 2019 and 2.2% in 2020, after cooling measures were implemented in 2018. Similarly, the price index slipped for three years after cooling measures were implemented in 2013,” it said.