Analysts expect property prices to continue to climb in 2008
Friday, January 11th, 2008SINGAPORE : The property market has gone on a bull run this year, and industry watchers believe prices will continue to climb in 2008, albeit at a slower pace.
Good demand sent property prices soaring this year. In the first nine months alone, prices rose by over 20 percent, double the increase for the entire 2006. Industry watchers said this level of optimism has not been seen since the late 1990s.
“Residential sales this year have hit a record high. We haven’t seen anything as high as this. The typical 10-year average is about 7,200-over private homes sold a year. This year, we are going to see more than double that figure,” said Nicholas Mak, analyst at Knight Frank.
“This market sentiment has greatly helped the local buyers. Mainly, I must say it’s fuelled by foreign investors, picking up many of the high-end condos. Likewise, we also witnessed a lot of foreign international funds, Middle Eastern funds, European funds and even some local investors picking up properties en bloc,” said Mohd Ismail, CEO of PropNex.
The spike in en bloc sale transactions has also contributed to the property boom. In the first half of this year, the Strata Titles Board received a record 45 collective sale applications, compared to 43 for the whole of 2006. more…