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Sep 30, 2011 - PropertyGuru.com.sg
 While the ongoing economic concerns in the US and Europe have impacted luxury property sentiment, prices of mass-market homes have almost reached the psychological barrier of S$1,000 psf.
This contrasts with declining sales volumes, wherein the Outside Central Region (OCR) bucked the trend with estimated sales numbers of about 2,868 units in Q3, up 5.9 percent from the previous quarter.
Sales of mass-market homes made up 70 percent of new sales transactions, implying that they will remain the key focus this quarter.
Prices of suburban homes (non-landed private properties, excluding ECs) in Q3 2011 stood at S$941 psf, a 2.5 percent increase, as opposed to the 1.7 percent increase in the OCR real estate price index in Q2 2011.
Within the Core Central Region (CCR), including the CBD and Sentosa Cove, sales volumes are expected to fall 45.4 percent to an estimated 287 units in the third quarter, compared to 526 units in Q2 2011.
Prices of CCR properties fell by 3.6 percent quarter-on-quarter, selling at an average of S$1,800 psf in the third quarter.
Sales in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) are expected to decrease by 10.2 percent to 979 units in Q3 2011, from 1,090 units in the previous quarter.
Prices of homes in the RCR grew to an average of S$1,300 psf in Q3 2011, up 1.6 percent from 1.1 percent in Q2 2011.
Overall, Knight Frank expects 4,134 units (excluding ECs) to be sold in the primary market in the third quarter, a decline in sales of approximately seven percent quarter-on-quarter.
Meanwhile, rental prices in the mass-market and high-end segments saw increases of 0.4 percent and 1.9 percent respectively, compared to -1.4 percent and 6.5 percent in Q2 2011.
With mass-market homes recording strong sales, Knight Frank expects new sales (excluding ECs) to hit at least 16,000 units in Q4 2011.
“If the economic performance turns unexpectedly for the worse by a large magnitude, private home prices are expected to moderate albeit any corrections are expected to be marginal and not more than 5 percent yearly. Otherwise, private home prices in general should hold or increase marginally at less than two to three percent q-o-q in Q4 2011,” it said.
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