In spite of new property tax rates, possible inflation coming hand in hand with a recession and/or an unemployment hike due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and upcoming interest rate hikes, the property market in Singapore for the first quarter of this year “started off on a good note.”
The rental market for the next quarter is likely to remain high, especially with pandemic restrictions eased and foreigners expected to return to the country, according to PropertyGuru’s Singapore Property Market Report Q2 2022.
Public housing will remain in high demand, and the HDB resale market is expected to stay buoyant till the BTO (Built To Order) supply is “fully restored in the next four years.”
The report says that both HDB and private rental markets are going strong, with the median asking prices of rental properties listed on PropertyGuru Singapore hitting a new high.
The median per square foot (PSF) sale prices for HDB resale flats have gone up slightly, and while the asking price growth for these flats has gone down, the demand continues to be strong, largely due to construction delays of BTO flats.
Interestingly, budget-friendly neighbourhoods such as Hougang, Punggol, and Sengkang saw the most transactions in the first quarter of the year.
More highlights: asking prices, especially for non-landed private properties, have risen at a slower rate. The report noted that growth has been more measured than in the past.
While the asking price of landed properties went up the most (7.15 per cent), this could be because 77 units were sold in Belgravia Ace (at Ang Mo Kio), and is “not indicative of an upward trend in the coming quarter.”
The report noted, however, that because the cost of borrowing has risen this year, and is expected to continue to do so, demand could slow down due to buyers exercising more caution.
As mentioned earlier, demands on the HDB rental market have remained strong due to delays in BTO construction.
“The Rental Price Index for HDB flats for Q1 2022 sits at 185.69 points, compared to the overall Rental Price Index of 145.22 points,” the report noted.
More BTO flats have been launched for sale, but these will reach completion within the next three to five years.
The report noted that rental prices may see an uptick because of expatriates coming back to Singapore. It added that with Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates now at 30 per cent for foreigners, they may opt for rentals instead of purchases. /TISG