27 January 2006
By Matthias Chan, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE
: Private residential properties prices in Singapore rose 1.4 percent
in the fourth quarter of 2005, capping a good year for the sector.
For
all of 2005, prices rose 3.9 percent, the sharpest increase in six years,
and developers sold some 9,000 units last year, a 55 percent rise on
year.
Better
yet, analysts say the strength in the market will likely spill into
2006.
The
fourth quarter figure was similar to the Urban Redevelopment's earlier
estimate of a 1.3 percent uptick.
But
the property recovery has not been broad-based.
Said
Pratik Burman Ray, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian, "The key interest
has been in the high end of the market. A few projects in the high end
have done extremely. One that comes to my mind straightaway is The
Sail at Marina. SeaView by Wheelock properties also did quite well.
And the other type of property which did well was good location projects,
like City Square Residences. I think these three projects contributed
to a good chunk to overall sales."
Sales
have been brisk, up 55 percent on year, and this has created a significant
drawdown on existing inventory.
Unsold
units with pre-requisites for sale have fallen to 11,000 as at the end
of last year, compared to 18,000 in the fourth quarter of 2004.
If
last year's sales of 9,000 were to be repeated, it would take only a
little more than a year to exhaust the existing inventory.
The
outlook for this year is equally bright.
Said
Mr Ray, "We are looking for a 4 to 5 percent increase for the overall
property price index and again we think that the main chunk will come
from the high end of the market. The high-end segment we can see rises
of as much as 15 percent for select projects. Mass market recovery is
going to be there but I think it will be more muted than the high-end
segment of the market."
Separately, the Housing Development Board said that HDB flat prices
rose by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.
For
the full year, HDB prices are down by 4.7 percent.
