Prices of private homes in Singapore rose 0.8 per cent in the second quarter of this year, accelerating slightly from their 0.6 per cent rise in the first quarter of the year.

The price increase in the April to June period was led by homes in the suburban areas, according to a flash estimate released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday.

In contrast, the prices of resale Housing Board flats inched up at a slower pace in the second quarter, rising just 0.5 per cent over the first quarter.

This was down from the 1.3 per cent increase in the first quarter, and also marked the smallest quarter-on-quarter growth since the first quarter of 2009, the HDB said its in flash estimate on Monday.

For private homes, prices in suburban areas outside the central region climbed by 3 per cent in the second quarter, faster than the 1.4 per cent rise in the first three months of the year, the URA said.

In contrast, prices in the prime central region fell by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, compared with a 0.6 per cent increase in the first quarter.

Prices of homes on the city-fringe inched up 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, the same rate of rise as in the first quarter, said the URA.

The flash estimates are compiled based on caveats for home purchases lodged during the first 10 weeks of the quarter, as well as information on new units sold by developers in the first two months of the quarter.

The final statistics will be updated in four weeks' time when URA releases the full data for the second quarter.