SINGAPORE - Private home prices fell 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the fourth quarter of last year, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Friday.

The latest data confirmed the agency's flash estimates earlier this month, which had also indicated a 1.3 per cent drop.

All segments of the private residential market saw price declines, the URA said. The steepest drop was in the city-fringe areas, where non-landed home prices slid 3.3 per cent in the first three months of the year, after edging up 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.

The price falls in other areas were more moderate in the first quarter. Prices of non-landed homes in the core central region dropped 1.1 per cent, after falling 2.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

In the suburban areas, non-landed home prices dipped 0.1 per cent, after a 1 per cent slide in the preceding quarter.

Prices of landed homes fell 0.7 per cent in the first three months of the year, easing from a 1 per cent decrease in the fourth quarter last year.

The slide in private home rents accelerated, however: rents decreased 0.7 per cent in the first quarter of the year, picking up pace from a 0.5 per cent fall in the fourth quarter of last year.

Separately, the Housing Board said on Friday that resale prices fell 1.6 per cent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, while resale transactions slid 5 per cent.