Resale prices of Singapore's private homes down 1 percent in March

Resale prices of Singapore's private homes fell 1 percent in March month-on-month, according to the flash estimates released by National University of Singapore's Institute of Real Estate Studies (IRES) on Thursday.

Singapore Residential Price Index (SRPI) showed overall prices declined 1 percent in March compared with the previous month. In February, resale prices increased 0.4 percent from a month earlier.

Prices of homes in the downtown area, excluding small units, declined 1.4 percent compared with the previous month. In the non-central region, prices of homes, excluding small units, fell 0.5 percent. While prices of small units fell 1 percent in March compared to the previous month.

Private homes are those developed by private developers. About 80 percent of the resident households in Singapore live in public housing units built and sold by the government. The private homes are typically more expensive than public housing units.