BY: Masayuki Kitano
SINGAPORE: Sales of private homes by developers in Singapore rose to a 15-month high in October, likely boosted by lower mortgage rates and a steady slide in property prices.
Developers sold 1,252 units last month, the highest since July last year, when they sold 1,655 homes, data compiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed.
Sales more than doubled compared with October 2015.
Falls in interest rates probably helped support demand, said Vishnu Varathan, senior economist for Mizuho Bank.
“On the whole we did have a situation where interest rates were softening,” he said, adding that falls in property prices may have also attracted buyers.
“I’m suggesting that it is because prices have continued to drop that transactions have picked up from a very, very low level,” Varathan said.
Private home prices in Singapore fell 1.5 percent in the third quarter, the biggest quarterly decline in seven years. Compared with a peak hit in the third quarter of 2013, private home prices have fallen 10.8 percent.
At the end of October, the three-month Singapore interbank offered rate (Sibor), a benchmark used to set interest rates on mortgages, stood at around 0.87 percent.
That was down from 7-year highs above 1.25 percent seen in the January-March quarter.
(Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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Source: ET Reality Residential
