Private home prices rose 1.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2026, according to URA's flash estimate on 1 October, up from 0.5 per cent in the second. That puts the rise for the first nine months at 2.8 per cent, a touch above the 2.7 per cent of the same stretch last year.
Landed homes did most of the lifting. Their prices rose 2.8 per cent, after 2.5 per cent the quarter before, and have now set a new high in each quarter of 2026. Non-landed prices rose 0.9 per cent, reversing a 0.1 per cent dip.
Where prices moved
Outside the city centre (OCR), non-landed prices rose 2.2 per cent, the fastest of the three regions. Record launch pricing did some of that: Vela Bay sold 72 per cent of its units at its April launch at an average of $2,886 psf. In the city fringe (RCR), prices edged up 0.2 per cent after falling 1.2 per cent; in the core central region (CCR) they slipped 0.1 per cent from a high base set by River Modern's pricing above $3,200 psf the quarter before.
More of what sold was expensive. Private homes (excluding ECs) selling for $2 million or more rose from 49.2 per cent of deals in the second quarter to 53.6 per cent in the third, and among new launches from 52.3 to 71.7 per cent. A higher share of large-ticket sales pushes the index up even when nothing else changes.
Fewer homes changed hands
Volume fell about 30 per cent, to some 4,300 units from 6,148, with the steepest drop outside the centre. New private home sales (excluding ECs) roughly halved to 1,082, partly because few projects launched: about 1,005 new units came to market in July and August, against 1,783 in the second quarter. Lentor Gardens Residences and Dunearn House were the main launches.
Two policy changes may have made buyers pause: private owners no longer have to wait 15 months before buying an HDB resale flat without an HDB loan, and Phase 2C of the Primary 1 exercise is changing for 2027.
What Roov's records show for landed homes
Roov's URA records, which run to early September, put the median landed home at $5.6 million in the third quarter, from $5.52 million in the second, and $2,311 psf from $2,107. That psf jump is far bigger than the index's 2.8 per cent because a median moves with which homes happened to sell, while URA's index adjusts for that. The steadier read is the trend: the median landed psf has risen in most quarters since early 2025, from about $1,950.
So far in 2026 the median terrace house has sold for $4.72 million, the median semi-detached for $6.5 million and the median detached house for $12.84 million.
What it means for you
If you are upgrading from a condo to landed, the gap is still widening: landed prices are rising faster than non-landed ones, so waiting has cost money this year. Price the whole move, not just the purchase: the stamp duty calculator works out the duty on a landed purchase, and the affordability calculator shows the loan your income supports. Our guide to upgrading from HDB to private covers the sequence if you are selling a flat first.
If you are buying non-landed, the softer volumes give buyers more room to negotiate than the price index suggests, especially on resale. The market analysis shows what your shortlist has actually sold for. For the longer view on what pays, see our Sunday Special on freehold vs 99-year, and on whether HDB and private prices are moving apart, HDB resale is cooling while private keeps climbing.
The fourth quarter should be busier: Lucerne Grand, Thomson Reserve and The Serra Residences bring about 2,000 new homes between them. We looked at what District 20 resale already costs before Thomson Reserve launches. URA publishes the full third-quarter figures on 23 October.
Weighing a move up to landed, or whether this is the quarter to sell? Roov's agent can pull the recent sales on your street and run the numbers with you. Get in touch.