House prices up by 2.16% during 2020
Singapore’s real house prices rose by 2.16% during 2020, following annual rises of 1.9% in 2019, 7.36% in 2018, and 0.72% in 2017. On a quarterly basis, house prices increased 1.67% during the latest quarter.
Nationwide house prices rose by 12% (inflation-adjusted) from 2016 to 2019, after falling by almost 10% in the three years prior.
Demand rising again; supply is steady
Total home sales, including new sales, sub-sales and resales rose by 9.2% during 2020 to 20,909 units, following declines of 13.5% in 2019 and 11.5% in 2018, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
There were a total of 376,040 housing units available in Singapore in Q4 2020, with a 7% vacancy rate, up from 6.2% in Q3 and 5.4% in Q2.
Rents, rental yields: yields are poor in Singapore at 3.3%
Singapore apartment costs are high, at around $14,373 per sq. m.
| Singapore: typical city centre apartment buying price, monthly rent (120 sq. m) | |||
| Buying price | Rate per month | Yield | |
| Singapore | $1,724,760 | $4,736 | 3.30% |
Recent news. Singapore’s economy shrank 5.8% in 2020 from a year earlier, based on an early estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), following annual expansions of 0.7% in 2019, 3.4% in 2018, 4.3% in 2017, and 3.2% in 2016. The economy is projected to recover this year, with an estimated growth of 5%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
