Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Singapore home prices slide for third quarter on property curbs

Singapore’s second-quarter home prices slid for a third consecutive quarter, the longest losing streak in five years, as tighter mortgage measures cooled demand in Asia’s second-most expensive housing market.

An index tracking private residential prices fell 1.1% to 209.3 points in the three months ended June 30, following a 1.3% decline in the previous three-month period, according to preliminary data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority today.

In addition to previous measures including new taxes and higher down-payments, Singapore announced rules in June last year governing how financial institutions extend property loans to individuals. These steps were part of a government campaign to rein in speculation in the housing market.

Under the new loan framework, mortgages shouldn’t push a borrower’s total debt-servicing ratio above 60% and those that do will be considered imprudent, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in June 2013.

Home prices added 1.1% in 2013, lower than the 2.8% gain in 2012 and the smallest annual increase since 2008 when prices slid 4.7%.

Singapore was the most-expensive city to buy a luxury home in Asia after Hong Kong, property broker Knight Frank LLP said in an annual wealth repo

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