Against the backdrop of rising transaction volumes and the recent en bloc frenzy, flash estimates for Q2 2018 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) revealed that private home prices have been on the uptick for the fourth consecutive quarter, marking a 3.4% increase from the previous quarter to 149 points. At present, the overall private residential price index is merely 3.6% lower than the previous peak of 154.6 points in Q3 2013. All segments of the market reflected similar showings as the Core Central Region (CCR) witnessed a 1.4% increase, while the Rest of Central Region (RCR) the Outside Central Region (OCR) also grew by 5.7% and 2.9%, respectively. With the spate of en bloc transactions that took place within H2 2017 – H2 2018, the high land costs forked out by developers will translate to higher launch prices, which will result in a consequent uptrend in the private home prices. With the growing pool of en bloc beneficiaries entering the market, it is likely that demand for homes will rise which will in turn push private home prices up. With new project launches on the horizon likely to set new benchmarks, there is a possibility that the price index will soon reach a new high.
