Prices of Singapore's private residential properties down 0.7 pct in Q1

Prices of Singapore's private residential properties decreased 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the 0.5 percent drop in the previous quarter, said Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in a report on Friday.

URA said that prices of non-landed properties in suburban area decreased 1.3 percent in the first quarter, where prices were unchanged in the previous quarter.

Prices of non-landed properties in downtown area edged up 0.3 percent in the first quarter, recovering from a 0.3 percent decline in the previous quarter.

While prices of non-landed properties in city fringe remained unchanged, after a 0.4 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Meanwhile, prices of landed properties declined by 1.1 percent, compared to a 1.8 percent decline in the previous quarter, URA added.

Rentals of private homes also fell 1.3 percent in the first quarter, the same rate of decline compared with the previous quarter.

URA noted that rental decline was observed across all segments of the private residential market. Rentals of non-landed properties in downtown area, city fringe and suburban area falling 1.7 percent, 0.6 percent and 1.2 percent in the first quarter respectively.

Rentals of landed properties dropped by 2.2 percent, compared with the 2.3 percent decline in the previous quarter.

About 80 percent of the resident population in Singapore live in units built by the Housing and Development Board and sold to eligible households.

The private residential properties in the city state typically refer to those built by private developers. Transactions involving private residential properties are carried out in a market separate from public housing market. Enditem