The Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) yesterday said Brunei Darussalam’s Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023 was 91.8, a 6.6 per cent year-on-year decrease compared to Q4 2023 and a 6.1-per cent decrease quarter-on-quarter, compared to Q3 2023.
Based on the mortgage data obtained from banks, there were 137 transactions for the purchase of private residential properties in Q4 2023, indicating an increase of 37 per cent in the number of transactions compared to Q3 2023 and 1.5-per-cent increase compared to Q4 2022. For Q4 2023, the majority of the transactions were for detached houses (62.8 per cent); followed by terrace houses (20.4 per cent), semi-detached houses (14.6 per cent) and apartments (2.2 per cent).
No financing for the purchase of land was reported in Q4 2023.
The overall median purchase price for all types of private residential properties was BND258,000 in Q4 2023, a decrease of 0.8 per cent year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.
The median purchase prices for specific types of properties were BND272,000 for a detached house; BND275,000 for a semi-detached house; BND202,500 for a terrace house and BND210,000 for an apartment.
The median price is widely used compared to the average or mean price in RPPI compilation as it is less influenced by a small number of unusually-priced properties within the house price distribution, the BDCB said.
In terms of location, the majority of properties purchased in Q4 2023 were in the Brunei-Muara District (111 properties), followed by Tutong District (14 properties) and Belait District (12 properties).
The five mukims that recorded the most purchases of private residential properties in Q4 2023 were Sengkurong, Mentiri, Kilanas, Gadong and Berakas ‘B’, the agency said.
