Prices of private homes fell 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, following a 2.4 percent drop in the preceding period, according to the latest data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the state agency responsible for land use planning.
The fourth quarter marked the sharpest drop in home prices in a decade, the URA said.
It is expected the URA index would see an accelerated fall in the next quarter. By 2007, real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle was describing Singapore's market as the world's hottest, and the city-state's property prices surged 31 percent overall. While fourth-quarter data is preliminary, analysts say the casino-inspired property boom is history now that the economy is in recession.
Analysts said the duration of the current property slump was difficult to predict but they agreed it will hinge on when Singapore pulls out of the recession.
A lot of it depends on the economy but is seemed that there are pockets of buyers waiting for a good catch.
"There will always be buyers even in a tough market and our prices are rather attractive," said one agent, who did not want to be named.
At another condominium project, launched last year, prices have also eased substantially. A one-bedroom unit measuring 624 square feet is priced at around 800,000 dollars -- compared with almost a million dollars before the slump, the agent for the project said.
Some unsold units remain and the developer is offering incentives, including the absorption of interest charges in the first three years of the loan, providing the mortgage is taken with a preferred bank.
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