Singapore Properties See Slowest Annual Gains Since 2008

Singapore’s fourth-quarter home prices slid for the first time in nearly two years, trimming annual gains to the smallest since 2008 as housing loan curbs cooled prices in Asia’s second-most expensive housing market.

The island-state’s private residential property price index fell 0.8 percent to 214.5 points in the three months ended Dec. 31, after it added 0.4 percent in the third quarter, according to preliminary figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority today. The index drop was the first since the first quarter of 2012. Prices increased by 1.2 percent in 2013, lower than the 2.8 percent gain in 2012, the data showed. That’s the smallest annual increase since prices slid 4.7 percent in 2008, the data showed.

Record home prices amid low interest rates raised concerns of a housing bubble and prompted the government to widen a campaign that started in 2009 to curb speculation in the property market. Singapore unveiled new rules in June governing how financial institutions grant property loans to individuals, in addition to previous curbs including new taxes and higher down-payments.

Bloomberg

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