SINGAPORE: Private home prices rose at a slower pace in the fourth quarter of 2022 amid lower sales due to a lack of major launches, cooling measures, rising interest rates and weaker global economic projections.
Prices of private residential properties rose 0.4 per cent in Q4 of 2022, compared with the 3.8 per cent in third quarter, according to real estate statistics released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Jan 27).
For the whole of 2022, private home prices rose 8.6 per cent, slowing from the 10.6 per cent increase in 2021.
The price decline is in sync with global trends where home prices have similarly slid in many countries, said OrangeTee & Tie’s senior vice president of research and analytics Christine Sun.
Home prices are taking a hit from rising interest rates globally, she said, adding that central banks worldwide have hiked interest rates to tame inflation.
“Real estate will inevitably be affected as households tighten their belts, and rising interest rates hold back some potential buyers.”
“It is not surprising that some buyers in Singapore are starting to feel the impact of higher mortgage payments, considering how much interest rates have risen over the past year.
However, most buyers can still service their loans now as they are not overleveraged since stringent property curbs are in place to ensure buyers remain prudent and our job growth is still healthy,” she said.
Singapore introduced several property cooling measures on Sep 30, including a new 15-month wait-out period for private homeowners who sell their property prior to submitting an application to buy an HDB resale flat.
Source: CNA
