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30-11-13, 17:34
http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/friday/premium/money/story/resale-prices-fall-buyers-favour-new-homes-20131129
Resale prices fall as buyers favour new homes
Resale market hit by price cuts at recent launches, rental concern in suburbs
Published on Nov 29, 2013
By Melissa Tan
PRICES of private resale homes weakened last month as buyers opted for new homes after developers began to cut prices at recent launches.
The strongest slide in resale prices was in the central region.
Overall resale prices for non-landed private homes fell 1.2 per cent in October from September, according to Singapore Residential Price Index flash figures released yesterday.
This followed a revised 0.9 per cent slide from August to September.
The overall decline reflects buyers' higher sensitivity to prices nowadays, said Knight Frank research head Alice Tan.
In the central region, resale prices for non-landed private homes dropped 1.4 per cent month- on-month, excluding shoebox units. That came after a revised 1.5 per cent fall from August to September.
Consultants said buyers likely held off on resale purchases last month because new launches seemed more attractively priced, particularly on the city fringe.
CapitaLand, for instance, launched its Sky Vue project in Bishan in September at a significantly cheaper price than the adjacent Sky Habitat.
"Buyers are thus anticipating further attractive prices for projects that will be launched in the months ahead," said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.
Buyers expect resale properties to be about 20 per cent cheaper than new launches in the same locale, he added.
In the suburbs, prices slid 1 per cent last month from the preceding month, steeper than the revised 0.4 per cent dip in September month-on-month. The figures exclude shoebox units.
Mr Ong said the weak rental market was deterring investors from buying resale private homes in the suburbs since there was more uncertainty over whether those can be rented out.
The shoebox segment, however, fared slightly better. Resale prices dipped 0.2 per cent in October from the preceding month, after tumbling 2.8 per cent in September.
Consultants said the resale market could remain weak in the coming months because developers are likely to continue reducing prices at new launches to move units.
OrangeTee research head Christine Li added that the central region was likely to do worse than the suburbs, owing to muted investment demand.
More newly completed homes are coming onto the market and these will compete with older properties for buyers, she noted.
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Resale prices fall as buyers favour new homes
Resale market hit by price cuts at recent launches, rental concern in suburbs
Published on Nov 29, 2013
By Melissa Tan
PRICES of private resale homes weakened last month as buyers opted for new homes after developers began to cut prices at recent launches.
The strongest slide in resale prices was in the central region.
Overall resale prices for non-landed private homes fell 1.2 per cent in October from September, according to Singapore Residential Price Index flash figures released yesterday.
This followed a revised 0.9 per cent slide from August to September.
The overall decline reflects buyers' higher sensitivity to prices nowadays, said Knight Frank research head Alice Tan.
In the central region, resale prices for non-landed private homes dropped 1.4 per cent month- on-month, excluding shoebox units. That came after a revised 1.5 per cent fall from August to September.
Consultants said buyers likely held off on resale purchases last month because new launches seemed more attractively priced, particularly on the city fringe.
CapitaLand, for instance, launched its Sky Vue project in Bishan in September at a significantly cheaper price than the adjacent Sky Habitat.
"Buyers are thus anticipating further attractive prices for projects that will be launched in the months ahead," said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.
Buyers expect resale properties to be about 20 per cent cheaper than new launches in the same locale, he added.
In the suburbs, prices slid 1 per cent last month from the preceding month, steeper than the revised 0.4 per cent dip in September month-on-month. The figures exclude shoebox units.
Mr Ong said the weak rental market was deterring investors from buying resale private homes in the suburbs since there was more uncertainty over whether those can be rented out.
The shoebox segment, however, fared slightly better. Resale prices dipped 0.2 per cent in October from the preceding month, after tumbling 2.8 per cent in September.
Consultants said the resale market could remain weak in the coming months because developers are likely to continue reducing prices at new launches to move units.
OrangeTee research head Christine Li added that the central region was likely to do worse than the suburbs, owing to muted investment demand.
More newly completed homes are coming onto the market and these will compete with older properties for buyers, she noted.
[email protected]