(Jan 8): Housing prices in Singapore are not expected to rise indefinitely, amid high mortgage rates and an increased supply of completed homes, the Straits Times reported, citing Minister for National Development Desmond Lee.

Interest rates are expected to remain high for longer, Lee said in an interview with the newspaper. “The rates we see are between 3.7% and 4.4%, so that will have an impact,” he added.

If the resale market remains buoyant, the government will have to consider increasing discounts given to people to keep build-to-order flats affordable in prime areas, he said.

The government is also looking for the “right timing” to lift a rule requiring private home owners to wait 15 months before they can buy a HDB resale flat, Lee said, referring to homes built by the Housing and Development Board.

Singapore’s private-home prices could move sideways in 2024 after rising 6.7% last year, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Ken Foong said in a recent note. “Prices could be capped by April 2023’s stamp-duty hike, and economic and rate uncertainties, along with more launches,” he said.