Singapore Democrats

Singapore property prices drop again, 5.9 percent in second quarter

Alex Kennedy
Associated Press Writer

Singapore real estate prices fell in the April-June period for a fourth straight quarter amid the city-state's worst ever recession.

Private residential property prices fell 5.9 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter after plunging 14 percent in the first quarter, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said Wednesday.

Prices, which have fallen about 26 percent since early last year, could plummet further as tens of thousands of new apartments become available over the coming months, said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Asia-Pacific economic adviser for MasterCard in Singapore.

"I'm afraid prices will crash again," Hedrick-Wong said.

Singapore's gross domestic product fell a seasonally adjusted, annualized 14.6 percent in the first quarter. The government expects the economy to shrink as much as 9 percent this year.

Private property prices soared almost 50 percent during 2006 and 2007 as a growing economy and the easy availability of credit fueled speculation, with new apartments sometimes changing hands many times before completion.

Prices of government-built housing, where more than 70 percent of Singaporeans live, rose 1.2 percent in the second quarter, making up for a 0.8 percent drop in the first quarter, the authority said.

The property survey was carried out in the first 10 weeks of the quarter, and the authority said it plans to release more complete figures later this month.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Singapore-Q2-property-prices-apf-364137778.html?x=0&.v=2

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