PROPERTY analysts believe this will be the year for mid- and mass-market properties to shine - but they say demand for landed homes should also remain favourable.

They expect prices of landed homes to climb by 10 per cent or even as much as 15 per cent this year.

That sort of rise may not be spectacular but is still substantial as it comes off a high base last year, when prices of such homes are estimated to have risen 25 per cent to 27 per cent, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.

A year earlier, in 2006, the price climb was just 6.7 per cent.

'The landed home sector was a laggard compared with non-landed homes,' says Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak. 'It started to pick up last year when people noticed that it was slightly undervalued.'

Good-class bungalows, in particular, attracted strong demand as wealthy homebuyers zeroed in on these large and exclusive houses in prime districts.

But demand for smaller bungalows remains fairly strong too as such properties are limited in supply, says Ms Grace Ng, the deputy managing director of agency and business services at Colliers International.

Read the full report in tomorrow's edition of The Sunday Times.

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