Private home prices, rents fall in Q4

Private home prices fell 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008, bringing the full-year price drop to 4.7 per cent.

The decrease is the second quarterly decline in private residential property prices following the 2.4 per cent fall in Q3.

The latest decline, announced the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday, is worse than expected. Initial estimates earlier this month forecast a drop of a 5.7 per cent.

The URA also said that private home rents in the fourth quarter slipped 5.3 per cent. But for the whole of 2008, private residential rents still rose 2.0 per cent.

As with previous quarter, homes prices in Singapore’s prime districts were hit the hardest. Prices of non-landed properties in Singapore’s Core Central Region (CCR) fell by 6.5 per cent in Q4 - the largest fall among the three regions URA tracks. Prices of non-landed properties in Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) fell by a slightly smaller 6.2 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively.

For the year 2008 as a whole, prices of non-landed properties in CCR, RCR and OCR fell by 5.6 per cent, 4.7 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively.

Source: Business Times - 23 Jan 2009