SINGAPORE - Housing Board resale prices edged down 0.4 per cent in December, marking the 11th straight month of decline and reaching a 41-month low, according to SRX Property flash figures on Thursday.

In the traditionally quiet end of year season, fewer flats changed hands. There were 1,295 transactions in December, down from 1,350 the month before.

But this was 28 per cent higher than the 1,012 flats sold in December 2013. Experts have been expecting resale volume to recover slightly this year as low prices draw buyers back into the market.

The fall in prices was driven by four- and five-room flats, with prices slipping 0.7 and 0.3 per cent respectively. Three-room flat prices stayed flat while executive flat prices rose 1.8 per cent.

According to SRX Property's new sub-indices for mature and non-mature estates, non-mature estates were responsible for the overall fall in prices. Prices were down 0.9 per cent in non-mature estates but rose 0.2 per cent in mature estates.

Nevertheless, the overall trend for both is negative. Prices in mature estates are down 7.4 per cent since their peak in January 2013, while those in non-mature estates have declined 12.4 per cent since their peak in February 2013