PRIVATE home prices surged nearly 10 per cent last year, in their fastest annual rate of increase in seven years.
HDB resale flats, which have generally been underperforming private homes, also staged a modest price rebound in the same period.
The latest figures, from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, show that for the October to December period last year, the prices of private homes rose an estimated 3.7 per cent.
That was the biggest quarterly rise since the last property market peak in 1999.
HDB resale prices paint a more modest picture. Prices inched up 0.9 per cent in the last quarter, reversing a slight decline the previous quarter. The overall 2006 rise for HDB resale prices was 1.6 per cent, the HDB said.
Market watchers say that while the HDB market will remain stable, private home prices are expected to accelerate further.
In fact, property consultants say the final yearly price figures for private homes - which will be released towards the end of this month - will be even higher.
This is because the latest quarterly estimate is unlikely to have included recent hot projects such as Grand Duchess, The Ford @ Holland and Marina Bay Residences, they said.
All three condos were sold out within days at the end of last year, with Marina Bay Residences in particular setting new all-time price highs.
When these projects are taken into account, the price increase in private homes is expected to be 4 per cent for the last quarter, said Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at Colliers International.
She added that the price jump in the last quarter is 'hardly surprising in view of the buoyant high-end market'.
Luxury homes clearly led the private residential market last year. Average prices were up 9.8 per cent in the last quarter and 35 per cent for the year, said Ms Tay.
For this year, she expects luxury home prices to climb by a further 12 to 18 per cent.
As for private homes as a whole, most property consultants expect the rise in prices this year to at least keep pace with last year's.
Ms Tay expects 'slightly higher growth in the region of 12 per cent', while Mr Ku Swee Yong, director of director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore, says prices could rise as much as 20 per cent.
He said that the expected rise of mass market homes and the continued influx of expats will support price and rental gains this year.
But Mr Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, noted that the performance of the mass market - traditionally the backbone of the Singapore private home market - will depend on the strength of HDB resale prices.
He expects 'another year of modest price growth of about 3 to 6 per cent' in the HDB market, due to expected slower economic growth.
HDB resale prices will 'stay relatively flat' also because there is an abundant supply of resale flats, added Mr Eugene Lim, assistant vice-president of ERA Real Estate.
But he noted that transactions of larger five-room and executive HDB flats went up last quarter, indicating the re-emergence of the upgrading trend.
This in turn should boost demand for the entry-level condos that make up the mass market and support the price rise, said Mr Chris Koh, director of Dennis Wee Properties.
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