Condo resale prices rise 1.3% in May as volumes drop 9%

May resale activity stayed at 15.4%, below the 5-year average even as prices increased.

Condominium resale prices rose 1.3% in May despite an 8.9% decline in transaction volumes, according to 99.co and SRX data.

Overall resale condominium prices were 3.7% higher than a year earlier.

Prices in the Core Central Region (CCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) rose 3.7% and 1.6%, respectively, whilst prices in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) fell 0.7%.

An estimated 989 resale units changed hands in May, down from 1,086 units in April. Resale volumes were 0.7% higher than a year earlier but 15.4% below the five-year average for May.

The median capital gain for resale condominiums rose by $9,000 from April to $419,000 in May, with District 10, covering Tanglin, Holland, and Bukit Timah, recording the highest median capital gain at $1.02m.

District 4, covering Sentosa and HarbourFront, posted the lowest median capital gain at $210,000.

The median unlevered return stood at 30.8% in May.

District 16, covering Bedok and Upper East Coast, recorded the highest median unlevered return at 49.3%, whilst District 2, covering Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar, posted the lowest at 7.2%.

"Capital gains and returns are calculated by comparing each current transacted price with the previous transacted price of the same unit," the report said.

The highest resale transaction in May was a unit at Reflections at Keppel Bay, which sold for $19.28m.

In the CCR, the highest transaction was a unit at Nassim Park Residences, which sold for $15.6m, whilst the highest OCR transaction was a unit at Thomson Grove, which sold for about $4.14m.