Singapore to retain home curbs for some time

Prices fall: A file picture showing private residential buildings in the Orchard Road area. Singapore home prices dropped 3 in 2016, with prices declining for the 13th straight quarter in the last three months of the year. – Bloomberg

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s residential property curbs are expected to stay for some time as the city-state’s economy remains stable and demand is still “very resilient,” National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said.

Singapore home prices fell 3% in 2016, with prices declining for the 13th straight quarter in the last three months of the year for the longest streak since data was first published in 1975. Still, Singapore house sales last year topped 2015’s tally as a third straight year of price declines stoked pent-up demand from homebuyers.