On the first day of October, Singapore's housing departments reveal their flash estimate for the price movements in the past three months for the private and public housing markets. As customary, HDB and URA release the preliminary figures of the preceding quarter in the first day of the following quarter. For the 3rd quarter 2013 (3Q2013), HDB's number shows a decline for the first time since 1Q2009. Then the re-sale price index dipped 0.79% from 139.4 in the quarter ended 2012 to 138.3. The decline this time round is not far off at 0.7%; whereby the index slipped from 206.6 to 205.1. In Table 1, we present the index from 4Q2008 till date.

Table 1: HDB Re-sale Price Index

Source: HDB The slowdown in the property market is felt also in the private housing segment. Flash figures released by the URA show that for the Core Central Region, or city, the slide in the price index for non-landed homes in 2Q2013 continue into the 3Q2013. In fact, the quarterly slide has increased from 0.2% to 0.5%. This downward trend also affects the Rest of Central Region, or city fringe. For the first time since 1Q2012, the quarter-on-quarter index tumbled. The index registered a 1.1% fall, as opposed to the 0.2% uptick in the preceding quarter. A bright spark exists for the Outside Central Region, or suburbans, where prices rose by 2.1%. Admittedly the increase is smaller than that for the previous quarter when the index inched up by 3.8%. Although these figures are only indicative, the flash estimates for 2Q2013 did not diverge significantly from the confirmed numbers. As a matter of fact, the preliminary HDB resale index tally completely with the released number. The updated indices and detailed housing data will be unveiled at the end of this month. With home prices heading south, potential buyers with extra cash should consider buying at this opportune period. Speak to a expert mortgage consultant for a home loan report ™ and advice – all at no cost to you.

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