Home prices rise less than in past quarters
My Paper
Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013
SINGAPORE - Home prices in the first three months of the year rose at a slower pace than in past quarters, going by preliminary figures released by the Government yesterday.
Property analysts said this showed that the property-cooling measures have taken effect.
But some did not rule out the possibility of additional measures kicking in this year that could affect the private-home market.
Housing Board resale-flat prices are estimated to have risen 1.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter.
This is lower than the 2.5 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of last year.
The HDB said the increase in the first three months of this year is the lowest quarter-on-quarter growth since the first three months of last year.
For private-home prices, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said their increase is estimated to have moderated to 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of the year, compared with the previous three months.
This contrasts with the 1.8 per cent increase for the fourth quarter of last year.
Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of PropNex Realty, said that HDB resale prices "are beginning to show signs of moderation", given the more than 50 per cent drop in price growth since the fourth quarter of last year.
He added that this was "largely contributed" by the January cooling measures that impacted home buyers' purchasing power.
One of the measures introduced raised an additional buyer's stamp duty across the board.
Another measure stipulated that home buyers who take a private home loan were limited to one where the monthly repayment does not exceed 30 per cent of their gross monthly income. There were previously no limits.
If an HDB loan is taken, this mortgage-servicing ratio is 35 per cent, down from 40 per cent.
As for the slowdown in private-home prices in the first quarter, Ms Alice Tan, Knight Frank Singapore's senior manager for consultancy and research, said this suggested that the seventh round of cooling measures and new property-tax policies "have had the intended impact of cooling price escalation of private homes".
"However, private-home prices continued to show an upward trajectory despite the measures," she said.
But some analysts said an eighth round of measures could kick in this year for the private-home market, Lianhe Wanbao reported on Sunday. One measure could extend the 30 per cent mortgage-servicing ratio to private-home loans.
Mr Lim Yong Hock, PropNex's key executive, told Wanbao this could be to prevent home buyers from overstretching their finances, given the low-interest-rate environment now.
Other possible measures Mr Chris Koh, director of Chris International, cited were barring HDB home owners from renting out their flats if they own a private home, and not allowing a person to own both a private and an HDB flat.
Mr David Wong, marketing director of Kojin Realty, told My Paper that he hoped that after the January measures, the Government would be patient and watch the market for the next six months to one year, before introducing more cooling measures.
This is because the effects of cooling measures may not be immediate, he said.
"Another round of measures might not be good for the real-estate market," he said.
[email protected]
- See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/pr...s-past-quarters/page/0/2#sthash.cta0JKzP.dpuf
My Paper
Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013
SINGAPORE - Home prices in the first three months of the year rose at a slower pace than in past quarters, going by preliminary figures released by the Government yesterday.
Property analysts said this showed that the property-cooling measures have taken effect.
But some did not rule out the possibility of additional measures kicking in this year that could affect the private-home market.
Housing Board resale-flat prices are estimated to have risen 1.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter.
This is lower than the 2.5 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of last year.
The HDB said the increase in the first three months of this year is the lowest quarter-on-quarter growth since the first three months of last year.
For private-home prices, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said their increase is estimated to have moderated to 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of the year, compared with the previous three months.
This contrasts with the 1.8 per cent increase for the fourth quarter of last year.
Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of PropNex Realty, said that HDB resale prices "are beginning to show signs of moderation", given the more than 50 per cent drop in price growth since the fourth quarter of last year.
He added that this was "largely contributed" by the January cooling measures that impacted home buyers' purchasing power.
One of the measures introduced raised an additional buyer's stamp duty across the board.
Another measure stipulated that home buyers who take a private home loan were limited to one where the monthly repayment does not exceed 30 per cent of their gross monthly income. There were previously no limits.
If an HDB loan is taken, this mortgage-servicing ratio is 35 per cent, down from 40 per cent.
As for the slowdown in private-home prices in the first quarter, Ms Alice Tan, Knight Frank Singapore's senior manager for consultancy and research, said this suggested that the seventh round of cooling measures and new property-tax policies "have had the intended impact of cooling price escalation of private homes".
"However, private-home prices continued to show an upward trajectory despite the measures," she said.
But some analysts said an eighth round of measures could kick in this year for the private-home market, Lianhe Wanbao reported on Sunday. One measure could extend the 30 per cent mortgage-servicing ratio to private-home loans.
Mr Lim Yong Hock, PropNex's key executive, told Wanbao this could be to prevent home buyers from overstretching their finances, given the low-interest-rate environment now.
Other possible measures Mr Chris Koh, director of Chris International, cited were barring HDB home owners from renting out their flats if they own a private home, and not allowing a person to own both a private and an HDB flat.
Mr David Wong, marketing director of Kojin Realty, told My Paper that he hoped that after the January measures, the Government would be patient and watch the market for the next six months to one year, before introducing more cooling measures.
This is because the effects of cooling measures may not be immediate, he said.
"Another round of measures might not be good for the real-estate market," he said.
[email protected]
- See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/pr...s-past-quarters/page/0/2#sthash.cta0JKzP.dpuf
