Private non-landed housing prices up 0.7% m-o-m in September: NUS SRPI flash estimate

Flash estimates for the overall Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) released by the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS) indicated that resale private non-landed residential property prices rose 0.7% month-on-month (m-o-m) in September. This comes as overall consumer price rose 0.5% m-o-m in September, based on the Singapore Consumer Price Index.

The SRPI tracks and measures the price movements of a basket of 759 non-landed private residential projects completed between October 2003 and September 2021.

The SRPI sub-index for the Central Region (excluding small units) grew 0.8% m-o-m in September while the non-Central Region (excluding small units) saw an increase of 0.6% m-o-m. The sub-index for small units rose 1.2% m-o-m in September.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, opines that the slower price growth in resale condo markets in September could be attributed to the higher-for-longer interest rates, which are likely having an effect on prices for both buyers and sellers.

IREEUS’ report for the September SRPI further shows data on buyer profiles in the resale condo market. Over the last 12 months, Singaporeans accounted for 74.6% of resale condo purchases on average, followed by Singapore permanent residents making up 21.4%, and foreigners making up the remaining 3.7%.

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Flash data also indicates that non-landed private residential sales fell 28% m-o-m in September, with condo resale volume increasing by 2.5% m-o-m in August. When compared to the recent high in March this year, the number of non-landed private homes purchased by Singaporeans, Singapore permanent residents and foreigners in the resale market dropped 37.4%, 46.2% and 86.7%, respectively, in September.

The final figures for August’s SRPI show that the overall SRPI was adjusted to reflect a 1% m-o-m increase, up from its flash estimate of 0.7%. For the sub-index for the Central Region (excluding small units), final figures for August show a 0.9% m-o-m climb, whereas the flash estimate was 0.8%. Similarly, for the non-Central Region (excluding small units), the sub-index was adjusted to reflect a 1% increase, higher than the 0.7% increase indicated in the flash estimates. The sub-index for small units remained the same as the flash estimates which predicted a 0.3% m-o-m growth.

Huttons’ Lee expects the confronting economic uncertainties alongside high interest rates to continue to perpetuate caution in the resale condo market in the coming months. He predicts that prices would likely increase by at most 8% in 2023. The number of units purchased by foreigners on the resale market in September was eight units, a 86.7% decrease from March this year’s 18 units.