Straits Times / Singapore Aug 27, 2010 Home prices see fastest rise Experts sceptical as global data doesn't compare across same property types By Joyce Teo PRIVATE home prices in Singapore rose at the fastest pace in the world in the year to June 30, according to the latest quarterly report by online property research house Global Property Guide. It says home prices here rose 34 per cent in that period - registering the highest year-on-year rise since 1995. This put the Republic well ahead of Hong Kong, in the No. 2 spot, with a 21.42 per cent jump. These figures have been adjusted for inflation. Mr Matthew Montagu-Pollock, publisher of Global Property Guide, said: 'It's because of Singapore's amazing economic growth... Housing markets respond to economic growth because people have more money in their pockets. They respond to interest rates and they respond to momentum.' Global Property Guide compiles the ranking using data from 36 countries and territories - mostly official data that can be based on a particular housing type or a combination of housing types. In Singapore, it uses Urban Redevelopment Authority data, which covers only private homes. Industry sources were sceptical about the ranking, given that it does not compare the same property types, for instance. 'For the ranking to be useful, you have to compare like for like. In Singapore, you're talking about the top 20 per cent of the housing market whereas another country might not have public housing,' said an industry source, declining to be named.
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