The growth in prices of Singapore's private homes moderated in the third quarter of this year, rising by 0.4 per cent from the second quarter.

This was down from the 1 per cent increase in the second quarter over the first quarter, according to flash estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Tuesday.

Prices of non-landed homes in the central and city-fringe areas both fell in the third quarter, leaving only suburban apartments and condominiums registering a price rise.

In the central areas, prices declined by 0.5 per cent, gaining pace from the 0.2 per cent slip in the second quarter.

For city-fringe homes, prices fell by 1.1 per cent - the first decrease since the first quarter of last year, said the URA. Prices had risen 0.2 per cent in the second quarter.

In contrast, the prices of suburban non-landed homes gained 2.1 per cent in the third quarter, although the rise was also lower than the 3.8 per cent seen in the second quarter.

The URA's flash estimates are compiled based on data from the first 10 weeks of the July to September period and will be updated in four weeks.