By Jessica Cheam

THERE is a buzz in the property market and it's in the heartlands.

Housing Board homes continue to draw buyers as prices rose 4.4 per cent in the second quarter, according to the flash estimates released by HDB on Tuesday.

This is higher than the 3.7 per cent increase in flat prices in the first quarter.

For the first half of the year, HDB's resale price index went up by 8.2 per cent.

In contrast, private home prices inched 0.4 per cent from April to June, compared to 3.7 per cent in the previous quarter, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

This is the third straight quarter of slower growth - and the lowest growth in three years - but on the bright side, property prices have held despite a slump in private home sales this year.

Housing experts say the latest figures, based on prices lodged during the first 10 weeks of the quarter, revealed an underlying strong demand for public housing.

High valuations of resale flats could also have contributed to the buying streak.

Property agency PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said he expects public housing prices to continue its rise in the next two quarters by another 5 per cent, with an overall price increase of about 13 per cent.

Said Mr Ismail: 'The private property market can generally be seen to be in a consolidation phase. Buyers are cautious over the uncertainty of the market, taking into consideration the current oil crisis and higher inflation rate.'

For the HDB market, however, the 'buzz is expected to continue' for the year, with Singapore's economic fundamentals still intact, said ERA Realty's assistant vice-president Eugene Lim.

For the first half of this year, HDB has launched 4,524 new flats.

Subject to demand, HDB said in a statement on Tuesday it plans to offer about 3,900 new flats under the build-to-order (BTO) system over the next six months in towns such as Punggol, Sengkang and Bukit Panjang.

The total year's supply of 8,400 new BTO flats will surpass the annual supply in 2007 (6,000 units) and 2006 (2,400 units).

The latest figures are preliminary and will be updated four weeks later, both authorities said.

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