Singapore private home prices rise for the 12th consecutive quarter

Home prices grew 3.3% in Q1 2023.

Underpinned by improved quarterly sales transaction volume, a JLL report reveals Singapore’s private home prices increased by 3.3% q-o-q in 1Q23, the 12th consecutive quarterly rise and accelerating from the 0.4% q-o-q growth in 4Q22. 

The report adds that compared to 1Q22, private home prices have escalated by 11.4% and by 28.1% since the low in 1Q20. The accelerated price growth, which was 0.1% above the earlier flash estimates, prompted a fresh round of market cooling measures with upward revisions in Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates with effect from 27 April 2023.

Here’s more from JLL:

The overall price increase was led by landed property prices, which grew by 5.9% q-o-q in 1Q23, faster than the 0.6% registered in 4Q22 and the steepest since the 6.7% q-o-q surge in 1Q21. On a y-o-y basis landed home prices have risen by 11.4%. The healthy price growth registered for landed properties was despite the lower transaction volume of 348 units in 1Q23 compared to 617 units in 1Q22. This is a testament to Singaporean’s strong penchant for landed homes and the impetus to pay a premium in a tight market where sellers maintained higher asking prices in view of higher acquisition costs for replacement homes.

After inching up 0.3% q-o-q in 4Q22, prices of non-landed homes rose faster by 2.6% q-o-q in 1Q23 and by 11.3% on a y-o-y basis on the back of new benchmark prices set by new project launches during the quarter.

Among the submarkets, prices of non-landed homes in the mid-tier RCR climbed the fastest by 4.4% q-o-q in 1Q23 after the 3.1% increase in the previous quarter. The price escalation in the RCR was largely due to the launch of Terra Hill at new price benchmark of SGD 2,650 psf in the locale during its debut in February. Compared to 1Q22, prices of non-landed homes in the RCR have climbed 17.7% as at 1Q23, the strongest among all three submarkets.

The mass-market OCR price index for private non-landed homes rebounded by 1.9% q-o-q in 1Q23 from the decline of 2.6% q-o-q in 4Q22. The price recovery was driven by new launches including Sceneca Residence in Tanah Merah at an average price of SGD 2,072 psf and The Botany at Dairy Farm at SGD 2,070 psf, which chalked up healthy sales at new price benchmarks for their respective neighbourhoods. A year on as at 1Q23, non-landed home prices in the submarket have strengthened by 8.9%.

Higher sales volume in both the primary and resale markets of the prime CCR supported price growth of non-landed homes in the region, which edged up further from 0.7% q-o-q in 4Q22 to 0.8% q-o-q in 1Q23. Y-o-y, prices in the submarket have climbed by 5.8%, the slowest compared to the increases recorded in the RCR and OCR.