Singapore to see persistent strong demand for properties: minister
- chenjipeng
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, October 15, 2012
Singapore to see persistent strong demand for properties: minister
SINGAPORE, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The strong demand for residential property in Singapore is likely to persist as interest rates stay low amid the monetary easing in the United States and Europe, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Monday.
Khaw told lawmakers that Singapore is not yet "out of the woods " despite the residential property prices stabilizing.
There will be a significant supply of residential properties in Singapore over the next two years, he said.
"With the recent announcements of further monetary expansion in both U.S. and the eurozone, the current low interest rate environment is likely to persist. This will continue to contribute to the strong demand for residential property, which could cause prices to rise beyond sustainable levels," he said.
The National Development Ministry said about 26,800 public housing units are expected to be completed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in 2014, in addition to 22,400 non-landed private housing units.
This is in comparison with the 11,300 HDB flats and 12,500 non- landed private housing units for this year.
Khaw said the HDB has ramped up its supply of build-to-order units significantly, and will keep up the pace of new flat supply into 2013.
The resale price index for public housing units in Singapore has seen an uptick in the third quarter this year, with a 2- percent growth from the second quarter based on flash estimates.
Singapore authorities have announced several rounds of cooling measures to discourage excessive speculation, including recent new curbs on excessively long tenures for housing loans.
Local broadcaster Channel NewsAsia quoted analysts as saying that the increase in the number of HDB flats to be completed in 2014 does not come as a surprise, as the government has been ramping up public housing flat supply in the past years.
The demand for new private homes jumped in September, led by a strong rebound in the mass market segment. Statistics released on Monday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed that 2,621 new private homes, excluding executive condominiums, were sold in September, up 84 percent from August. The rebound is in sharp contrast to the relatively low sales in August, when some home buyers stayed away during the Hungry Ghost Festival. Enditem
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)