Q2 2020 Private Home Price Surprises with 0.3% Uptick. Will this trend continue?

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Private home prices in Singapore edged up 0.3 per cent in a surprising turnaround from an initial flash estimate in early July which had the private residential property index declining by 1.1 per cent.

However, this may be a one-off as most analysts expect economic headwinds and weaker employment prospects to put downward pressure on prices and volumes this year.

The 0.3 per cent figure - which follows a 1 per cent decrease in Q1 - could be due to pent-up demand in the second half of June when Singapore moved into phase two of reopening, some analysts highlighted. Prior to that, developers had to shutter their showflats from April 7, while physical viewing of properties was disallowed.

"There were almost no major project launches in Q2, which typically help to boost volume and support prices," said Ismail Gafoor, chief executive of PropNex.

The primary market proved more resilient than the secondary market in Q2, analysts said, with the former accounting for nearly two thirds of all transactions.