Associated Press 01.02.08, 6:42 AM ET
Singapore's private home prices rose almost a third over the whole of 2007 despite a slower pace of growth in the fourth quarter, the government said Wednesday.
For the year, the housing price index rose 31 percent. Fourth-quarter private property prices rose 6.6 percent from the third quarter after increasing 8.3 percent in the previous three months, according to preliminary estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
No average price figures were released. Homes in the central region sold for record prices last year, and the property price inflation has also spread to less-expensive suburban areas.
Prices in the core central region rose 7 percent in the quarter from the previous period, compared to the 8.3 percent increase in the previous three months.
Just outside the core central region, prices increased 7.3 percent, slightly slower than the 7.9 percent rise in July-September. Elsewhere home prices rose 7.5 percent, also slightly slower than growth of 7.9 percent in the previous quarter.
During the fourth quarter, the government withdrew a scheme that allowed buyers of uncompleted properties to defer part of the payments in a bid to slow the sector. The scheme had been implemented in 1997 when Singapore's property market crashed. It fueled speculation among investors who secured properties with minimum downpayments and quickly resold them.
About 85 percent of Singaporeans live in subsidized public housing apartments built by the government. Private developers compete to provide housing for the remaining 15 percent of Singapore citizens, along with a sizable number of foreigners that make up the rest of the city-state's population of about 4.5 million.
The flash estimate issued Wednesday on home prices is based on data for the first 10 weeks of the quarter. The government will issue more detailed figures in one month.
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