Singapore's house prices up 2.61% y-o-y in Q1 2019

Singapore’s house price rises continue, albeit at a slower pace, amidst slowing economy. House prices rose by 2.61% during the year to Q1 2019, a slowdown from y-o-y increases of 7.32% in Q4 2018, 7.93% in Q3, 8.53% in Q2 and 5.2% in Q1. Quarter-on-quarter, house prices fell by 0.77% during the latest quarter. 

Demand continues to fall

In 2018, total home sales, which include new sales, sub-sales and resales, fell by 11.5% y-o-y to 22,139 units, in contrast to a y-o-y growth of 52.7% in the prior year, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The weakness of demand continues this year, with home sales falling by almost 30% y-o-y to 3,743 units in Q1 2019.

In Q1 2019, there were a total of 370,944 housing units available in Singapore, up by 0.3% from the previous quarter, according to URA. Of which 347,587 units are occupied, while the remaining 23,357 units are available, making up a 6.3% vacancy rate (down from 6.4% in Q4 2018 and 6.8% in Q3 2018).

Rents, rental yields: yields are poor in Singapore at 2.54%

Singapore apartment costs are high, at around $13,748 per sq. m. 

Singapore: city centre apartment, buying price, monthly rent (120 sq. m.)

  Buying price Rent per month Yield

Singapore $1,649,760 $3,498 2.54%

Recent news. Singapore’s economy grew by 1.2% in Q1 2019 from a year earlier – the slowest y-o-y growth in nearly a decade – mainly due to a decline in manufacturing and exports sector, amidst the US-China trade war, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). Economic growth this year is expected between 1.5% and 2.5%, a slowdown from expansions of 3.2% in 2018 and 3.9% in 2017.