(April 3): Singapore home prices grew at a faster pace in the first quarter, signaling appetite for new properties remains high.

Property values climbed 3.2% from the previous three months, when they rose 0.4%, according to flash estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday. That marked the 12th straight quarter of growth.

Singapore’s housing market has remained resilient even as countries from Denmark to New Zealand face slumps. Home sales reached a five-month high in February, as a supply crunch eased and buyers remained undeterred by surging interest rates and inflation.

“Despite an economic slowdown and heightened interest rates, private home prices are still expected to lock in positive growth this year, albeit at a slower pace of about 3% to 5%,” Wong Xian Yang, Cushman & Wakefield plc’s Singapore head of research, said before the figures were released.

Appetite is being supported by a stable job market, surging rents and sustained demand from those who wish to upgrade their public homes due to rising resale prices, he said. “The reopening of China could also bolster market sentiment and contribute slightly to overall demand.”

The city-state bagged the top spot for growth in residential rents in the last quarter of 2022, overtaking New York in annual rankings. Rents for private apartments surged 36% in February from a year earlier, according to a report by real estate portal SRX.

In February, Singapore raised taxes for buyers of higher-value properties in its annual budget, months after introducing cooling measures, underscoring the government’s confidence in the local housing market.