Resale of private homes in Singapore plunged 43.3%

Following the January cooling measures.

According to DTZ Research,  Resale transaction volume fell sharply following the imposition of the cooling measures in January. Resales of private homes fell by 43.3% q-o-q in Q1 across all submarkets.

"On a y-o-y basis, resale transactions fell by 11.2% compared to Q1 2012. Notably, resale volume remained weak on a monthly basis till April 2013.

This is a stark contrast to a year ago after the imposition of the ABSD for the first time. Resale transactions had made a strong rebound in March 2012 as buyers found better value in the resale market after some projects in the primary market set benchmark prices. In comparison, developers were more competitive in their pricing strategies this year," said DTZ Research.

Here's more:

The latest round of cooling measures in January 2013 was also more comprehensive than that in December 2011. There could also be a mismatch in the expectations between buyers and sellers.

Singaporeans who already own two or more properties now have to pay an ABSD if they were to purchase another property after selling their secondary properties. As a result, sellers may require a higher selling price as their replacement cost is now higher.

On the other hand, prospective buyers may take a wait-andsee attitude and see if prices will fall first before entering the market again.resale transaction volume fell sharply following the imposition of the cooling measures in January. Resales of private homes fell by 43.3% q-o-q in Q1 across all submarkets.