Singapore
October 27, 2006, 2.27 pm (Singapore time)

Singapore's Q3 home prices rise 2.7%


SINGAPORE - Singapore home prices rose for the tenth straight quarter, climbing 2.7 per cent higher in the July to September period from the previous quarter, the government's real estate planning agency said on Friday.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said that its price index for private residential homes on the island state of 4.4 million people rose to 125.4 points in the third quarter from 122.1 points in the April-June period this year. The third-quarter increase follows a 1.8 per cent rise in the second quarter.

Singapore's real estate recovery gained momentum last year, with private home prices rising 3.8 per cent in 2005, following government measures to ease real estate financing rules.

A few luxury properties in prime districts have sold at prices last seen in 1996, before the Asian financial crisis. -- REUTERS