Home prices to increase further, survey shows

More Singapore residents expect home prices to rise further and are planning purchases even after the government imposed more curbs to the market, according to the operator of the city's most-visited property website. PropertyGuru said its survey showed 62 per cent of respondents expect home prices to increase, compared with 57 per cent in the first quarter. Its consumer sentiment index fell to 2.6 from 2.8, where a measure of 2.5 indicates a neutral outlook, it said in a statement. Almost half may consider investing in a property, from 35 per cent previously, it said. "There is a mismatch between the understanding of the market and the reality," Steve Melhuish, PropertyGuru's group chief executive officer, told reporters in Singapore yesterday. "They don't like that it's expensive but when they look at it in terms of investment, they still see it as a very strong place to invest." Article continues below Singapore's private home prices rose 2 per cent in the second quarter, the smallest gain in two years following government measures this year that included higher down payments on second mortgages and taxes for some housing transactions. June residential sales in the city-state fell 25 per cent, the most in six months, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority. More of the city's residents are concerned about higher home prices, with 79 per cent saying all housing categories are expensive, from 75 per cent in the first quarter, PropertyGuru said. About 57 per cent said the government hasn't done enough to control prices, compared with 48 per cent in the first quarter.