SINGAPORE private home prices fell for a second consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter according to advance government estimates, hurt by a drop in investor sentiment amid the global economic downturn.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Friday its private residential property index declined 5.7 per cent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, worse than the drop of 2.4 per cent in July-September.

Homes in prime areas registered the biggest price fall, with apartments in the core central region declining 6.3 per cent compared with a drop of 4.7 per cent in outlying areas.

Meanwhile, the Housing & Development Board also released its flash estimate of the of the 4th Quarter 2008 Resale Price Index (RPI). It is pegged at 139.5, an increase of 1.5% over the previous quarter. This is lower than the 4.2% increase in the third quarter of 2008. More detailed public housing data will be released at the end of January 2009. 

Many analysts expect Singapore property prices to keep falling in 2009.

RBS predicts a price drop of 30 per cent in prime areas and a decline of 10 per cent in outlying areas.

Singapore real estate is popular with foreign investors who accounted for about half of all residential property purchases in prime areas in 2007.