Singapore Home Prices Fall, First Time in Two Years

---

Home prices in Singapore dropped for the first time since the first quarter of 2012, following government measures introduced last year to cool the property market. 

Prices fell 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The new data revises the estimate of an 0.8 percent drop released earlier this month.

The drop in the final quarter, helped drive prices lower for the full year. Home prices increased 1.1 percent in all of 2013, lower than the 2.9 percent increase in 2012. 

The country's government started a campaign in 2009 to curb rapidly increasingly home prices. New measures were introduced last summer as prices continued to climb. 

Figures released earlier this month showed home sales in Singapore dropped more than 80 percent. 

Similarly, today's data shows developers sold 14,948 units in 2013, compared to 22,197 homes sold in 2012. 

The country's rental market also recorded negative performance. Rentals dropped 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter, marking the first drop since the third quarter of 2009. This compares to a 0.2 percent gain in the third quarter of 2013. 

The agency expects developers will complete 19,907 homes in 2014, with another 24,153 in 2015. In comparison, approximately 14,400 units were completed in 2013. 

The introduction of new supply will likely have an impact on the already climbing vacancy rate for the market. At the end of the fourth quarter, the vacancy rate reached 6.2 percent, up from 6.1 percent at the end of the third quarter.