Prices of completed private apartments and condominiums in Singapore inched up 0.2 per cent last month, after staying flat in March.

The figures are flash estimates released yesterday by the National University of Singapore (NUS) for its Singapore Residential Price Index, which tracks prices of completed non-landed private homes.

The rise was driven by a 1.4 per cent increase in prices of apartments in the central region, excluding small units. In March, prices in the location had risen 0.1 per cent.

But prices of apartments outside the central region, excluding small units, fell 0.6 per cent last month, following a 0.1 per cent dip in March.

Prices of shoebox units, defined as no bigger than 506 sq ft, weakened by the same 0.4 per cent margin that they did in March.

The NUS Institute of Real Estate Studies defines the central region as districts 1 to 4 (including Sentosa Cove) and the traditional prime residential districts of 9, 10 and 11.

In the year to date, overall prices are down 0.4 per cent. Prices of larger apartments in the central region fell 0.5 per cent, while prices in the non-central region are 0.3 per cent lower. Prices of shoebox units saw a 1.4 per cent fall.

On a year-on-year basis, prices of shoebox units also suffered.

Overall prices were 0.6 per cent higher than a year ago, with prices of larger apartments in the central region up 0.3 per cent and prices in the non-central region rising 0.9 per cent. But prices of small apartments were 0.4 per cent lower.