Prices of resale private homes in Singapore picked up slightly across all three market segments in the third quarter.

Prices of non-landed and landed homes – excluding executive condominiums (ECs) – in the Core Central Region (CCR) rose 0.3 per cent to S$2,087 per square foot (psf) in Q3 2023 from S$2,080 psf in Q2 2023, OrangeTee & Tie’s report indicated on Tuesday (Oct 24).

Resale prices of homes in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) edged up 1.3 per cent to S$1,744 psf and those in the Outside Central Region (OCR) increased 2.2 per cent to S$1,421 psf in Q3 2023.

The report said the median price psf gap between non-landed resale homes – excluding ECs – in CCR and RCR has narrowed to 17.5 per cent in the third quarter, down from 24.1 per cent in the preceding quarter and 27.5 per cent in Q1.

The third quarter’s price gap was the smallest since Q3 2001 at 14.5 per cent, said Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie.

The price gap between non-landed resale homes in the RCR grew faster than those in the CCR in recent years, Sun said.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Tuesday, 12 pm

Property Insights

Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.

Sign Up

The price gap narrowed substantially after the onset of the pandemic, she added. Median prices of resale condos in the CCR climbed 13.6 per cent to S$2,011 psf in Q3 2023 and jumped 26.8 per cent to S$1,711 for RCR.

Sun attributed the price appreciation in the RCR in recent years to more condominiums obtaining their temporary occupation permits (TOP). Such condo units tend to fetch higher resale prices than older units.

“Around 12,800 units obtained TOP in the RCR from 2020 to H1 2023, surpassing the estimated 3,300 units in the CCR. Moreover, demand is stronger for private homes in the city fringe since they are still more affordable than luxury homes,” added Sun.

For resale volume, the last two quarters experienced slower sales due to the Hungry Ghost Festival and elevated interest rates. Based on Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Realis data, 2,748 units – excluding ECs – were sold in Q3 2023, compared to 3,121 units in the previous quarter.

For CCR, resale volume dropped 15.3 per cent to 476 units in Q3 from 562 units in Q2, while those in RCR declined 15.3 per cent to 808 units from 954 units over the same period.

Homes in the suburbs or OCR had the smallest decline in resale volume – decreasing 8.8 per cent to 1,464 units in Q3 from 1,605 units in Q2.

Sun expects demand to remain resilient in the condo market, especially in the OCR or suburbs.  

With more resale properties completed in the market, she added that this increased supply may help to “mitigate runaway home prices in the secondary market”.

“The total resale volume (excluding ECs) may reach 10,000 to 12,000 units for 2023, and overall resale prices may rise at a slower pace of 4 per cent to 6 per cent in 2023, down from the 8.7 per cent growth in 2022,” said Sun.