SINGAPORE - The Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) widely watched private residential property price index rose 0.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017 over the preceding quarter, based on a flash estimate released by the authority on Tuesday (Jan 2).
This is the same as the 0.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) increase posted by the index in the third quarter of 2017.
For the whole of 2017, prices appreciated 1 per cent - contrasting with the 3.1 per cent decline in 2016.
In the fourth quarter, prices of non-landed private homes rose 0.7 per cent over the previous quarter, compared with a 0.6 per cent gain in the third quarter.
However, prices of landed homes rose at a slower pace of 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, following a 1.2 per cent hike in the third quarter.
Giving a breakdown of non-landed private home prices by region in the fourth quarter, the URA said that prices rose by 1.6 per cent in the prime areas or Core Central Region (CCR); this was a steeper gain compared with the 0.1 per cent increase in the previous quarter.
However, prices in the city fringe or Rest of Central Region (RCR) increased by 0.2 per cent, a slower pace of increase compared with the 0.5 per cent hike in the previous quarter. Prices in the suburbs or Outside Central Region (OCR) also rose at a slower pace of 0.6 per cent, after posting a 0.8 per cent increase in the previous quarter.
For the whole of 2017, prices in CCR, RCR and OCR rose 0.8 per cent, 1.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively.
The flash estimates are compiled based on transaction prices given in contracts submitted for stamp duty payment and data on units sold by developers up till mid-December. The statistics will be updated on Jan 26, 2018 when URA releases its full set of real estate statistics for the fourth quarter of 2017.
Past data have shown that the difference between the quarterly price changes indicated by the flash estimate and the actual price changes could be significant when the change is small.
"The public is advised to interpret the flash estimates with caution," URA said.
