Singapore home prices climb, defying virus restrictions

By Faris Mokhtar

(Bloomberg) — Singapore home prices rose in the third quarter, showing resilience despite persistent coronavirus restrictions that have disrupted the market.

Private property values climbed 1.1% from the previous quarter, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority data on Friday. That’s higher than the flash estimate of 0.9% and the second quarter’s 0.8% growth.

While price gains have slowed from 3.3% in the first quarter, they reflect the property market’s resilience despite Singapore’s start-stop measures to counter Covid-19 infections. Like many other countries, the city-state has seen strong demand for homes during the health crisis, with buying from ultra-rich foreigners fuelling the trend.

Singapore is trying to live with the virus, but it’s reopening the country cautiously amid a surge in cases, with the daily tally surging past the 3,000 mark. It imposed a fresh round of curbs that were to end this month, but with infections showing no signs of abating, the government extended those restrictions until the end of November.

While home prices have grown, sales have declined for two straight months as the virus measures steered away buyers and deterred developers from launching new residential projects.

© 2021 Bloomberg L.P.