Demand up in central region for resale units

More home hunters bought private resale homes in Singapore's central region in April, even though prices picked up marginally from the month before.

In recent months, buyers have tended to shun downtown addresses while suburban launches have been booming.

But 221 resale units were sold in the central areas last month, a healthy 3 per cent rise from March's 215 units. 

The figure includes non-landed upper-middle to luxury homes in districts 1 to 4, and 9 to 11. It excludes shoebox apartments, defined as measuring 506 sq ft or smaller. 

A recent report compiled by the National University of Singapore's Institute of Real Estate Studies found that overall resale prices inched up by 0.8 per cent in April. In the central region, prices rose by 1.6 per cent. 

The resale market was driven by the fact that there were few project launches in the central region. Also, would-be buyers began to recognise that prices there were fairly attractive, after stagnating over the past six months.

Source: The Straits Times – 31 May 2012