According to the latest data, the resale volume of local non-landed private homes fell by 10.3% in the third quarter of this year, but the resale price rose by 2.9% year-on-year.

According to data provided by Savills to the Union-Tribune, the average resale price of private homes in the third quarter was $1,550 per square foot, up 2.9 percent from a year earlier.

Prices for high-end private homes in the Central Core Region (CCR) rose for the eighth consecutive quarter, averaging $2,544 per square foot.

Many affluent expatriates are opening companies or family offices in Singapore and also buying real estate, which, together with the strong Singapore dollar, is supporting the rise in prices of high-end private homes.

Despite the uncertainties in the global economy, Savills' Senior Director of Research and Consulting, Teo Min Jang, predicts that high-end private property prices will remain resilient to declines.

In the third quarter of the year, 3,961 non-landed private homes changed hands, 10.3% less than in the second quarter.

Among all districts, the largest drop in resale volume was for mid-range private homes in other central districts (RCR), which fell 14.3 percent to 1,135 units from a year earlier.

Resale volume for mass private housing and high-end private housing slipped 10.1 percent and 3.5 percent to 2108 and 718 units, respectively.

The volume of transactions fell, but prices rose because homeowners continued to offer high prices and were unwilling to reduce their prices because they could afford to hold on to them. Buyers who are willing to pay high prices are really in need of a home and have sufficient funds.

The overall decline in sales of all types of non-landed private homes in the third quarter may be due to the delayed effect of the new cooling measures introduced last December, as well as the unpredictable macroeconomic outlook caused by high interest rates.