The Altura EC development offers a range of recreational facilities such as a swimming pool, jacuzzi, and a gym. Strategic green spaces will be strategically laid out among the buildings for residents to enjoy a peaceful and mindful stroll. The development also offers a wide range of unit types such as four-bedroom, five-bedroom, and two-bedroom dual-key units. Altura EC provides homebuyers with a great opportunity to purchase a quality built home at an attractive price.

Michael Murphy is the director of South East Asia at Linesight. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has maintained its exchange rate policy band and stopped tightening. According to MAS projections, the Consumer Price Index (CPI-All) is still expected to be high in 2023, with inflation in the range of 5.5% to 6.5%.

However, Singapore’s GDP is expected to grow slower at 1.5% in 2023 compared to 3.6% in 2022 due to a global slowdown and contraction in the manufacturing sector. Last year, the construction sector experienced a real-term expansion of 6.6%, which can be credited to the uptick in consumer and investor confidence, as well as the easing of Covid-19-related travel and business restrictions.

The industry is likely to continue this growth in 2023 at a rate of 5.4% annually. This is due to planned public housing projects, although it still faces challenges like labour shortages and high prices. Conditions have been improving though, so the industry is expected to gain further momentum in the medium to long term.

Lumber prices have remained steady but elevated, and they are expected to remain within this range over the next few quarters. This is down to incentives for sustainable construction promoting the use of engineered lumber, and an increased demand for residential construction recovering from the 2020 slump.

Cement and aggregate prices have stayed high following a sharp rise in the first half of 2022, as production costs remain costly and demand continues to increase. Construction output has been expanding since last year’s slump, mainly driven by infrastructure and residential investments, and this will result in further upward pressure on cement and aggregate prices.

Brick prices have been stable but are predicted to increase with greater demand for construction. Steel prices have dropped off in the second half of 2022 and early 2023, but are projected to rise again due to increased demand from large civil engineering projects. Raw material prices are expected to be volatile, but not reach the high levels seen during the first half of 2022.

Finally, copper prices increased sharply in January 2023 due to strengthened global demand, particularly from China. Prices slowed during January to March 2023, although they remained high on a quarterly basis. Domestically, copper prices are anticipated to climb further due to Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, and its public infrastructure development projects.