By Mr. Propwise

It’s been almost five months since the announcement of the seventh round of property cooling measures by the government, which imposed steeper stamp duties and lower loan-to-valuations for mortgages. Have the measures had their intended effect to curb the rapid rise of property prices in Singapore?

2013Q1 URA PPI moderated, but prices accelerated in April

If we look at the 0.6% increase in the 2013Q1 URA Property Price Index, a slowdown from the previous quarter’s 1.8% increase, it might appear that the cooling measures have had some impact to slow the growth of property prices.

But the recent flash estimate of the Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) published by the Institute of Real Estate Studies at the National University of Singapore indicated that home resale prices accelerated to a 1.9% increase in April, compared to a 1.1% increase in March.

In particular, prices ...