Singapore Q1 private home prices down 0.1 pct vs Q4

SINGAPORE, April 27 (Reuters) - The Urban Redevelopment
Authority (URA) released detailed private home price data for
the first quarter of 2012 on Friday:
The URA's flash estimate earlier this month showed private
home prices fell 0.1 percent in January-March from the preceding
three months.
Quarter-on-quarter, percentage price change:
Quarter Q1/2012 Q4/2011 Q3/2011 Q2/2011 Q1/2011

Singapore -0.1 +0.2 +1.3 +2.0 +2.2
private
home prices

Context:
- The 0.1 percent drop marks the first quarterly decline in
Singapore private home prices since the second quarter of 2009.
- Prices of non-landed private residential properties fell
0.6 percent in the core central region.
- Singapore last introduced measures to cool the housing
market in December. The new rules included a requirement that
foreigners who are not permanent residents pay an additional
stamp duty equal to 10 percent of the property value.

(Reporting by Kevin Lim; Editing by Paul Tait)