Resale home prices dropped 0.3% in Dec 2012!

Prices of private resale homes dropped 0.3% in December from November.

This is according to the latest Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI), which tracks prices of completed private apartments and condominiums.

The SRPI data is published by the Institute of Real Estate Studies at National University of Singapore (NUS).

Analysts said the drop may be due to lower transactions during the school holidays in December.

They added that when volume is lower, prices tend to be flat or register a small decline.

Resale prices of private homes in the central area saw the biggest decline, down 1.3% last month.

But prices of units in the non-central region went up by 0.5%.

Meanwhile, the index covering small units of 506 square feet and below remained flat last month.

DWG Real Estate senior manager Lee Sze Teck said: "For January 2013, the prices for small units could see a rise because of the lower loan-to-value (LTV) ratio implemented on 12 January 2013."

He added: "Buyers are likely to adjust their budget downwards because of the lower LTV ratio and look to buy smaller units."

In contrast, data compiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed private residential property prices grew 1.8% in the last quarter of 2012.

Mr Lee said that the difference between the two data "could be due to NUS revising their base to March 2009."

Source: Channel News Asia