SINGAPORE, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's residential property prices hit record highs in the fourth quarter of 2012, despite government efforts to cool the market and ramp up the supply.
The flash estimates released on Wednesday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed that the private residential property price index in the fourth quarter rose by 1.8 percent from the previous quarter to a record 211.9 points. This came after a rise of 0.6 percent in the previous quater.
The prices of private residential properties increased by about 2.8 percent in 2012, though the pace is less than the growth of 5. 9 percent in 2011.
The Singapore government has introduced several rounds of tightening measures to cool the private residential property market, including an extra stamp duty of 10 percent for non- individual and foreign buyers.
The resale prices for public housing flats built and sold by the Housing and Development Board rose to a record high in the fourth quarter, too.
The resale price index released by the Housing and Development Board showed that the index rose by 2.5 percent quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter.
The government has significantly ramped up the supply of public housing flats over the past two years in an effort to keep public housing affordable.
The board said it would now target to launch at least 23,000 flats in 2013 with a good geographical spread in various towns and estates. It had planned a supply of at least 20,000 flats previously.
About 80 percent of the population in Singapore live in public housing flats built and sold by the government. The private housing properties, with the transactions made in a separate market, accounted for some 24 percent of the total units.
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