SINGAPORE: Recession? What recession? Despite Singapore's worst economic slump since independence, the residential property sector is in the midst of a new boom reminiscent of 2007, when the city-state was known as the world's hottest real estate market.

Greed and its twin brother fear are back in play as punters stake out condo launches days before sales open will have to intervene to stop a bubble from forming, she said: "There's froth but no excessive speculation." "The government is likely to increase the supply of housing units through the sale of government land and monitor the situation first." Chua Yang Liang, head of Southeast Asia research at Jones Lang LaSalle, said demand is largely driven by buyers upgrading from government housing due to strong wealth creation in recent years, and the shrinking gap in cost between public and private housing.

"However, unless we begin to record positive growth in the larger global and domestic economies, the recent spike in demand and prices is short-lived and could cause asset driven inflation in the longer term, especially if wage increases do not keep pace," Chua added.

"In our opinion, there isn't enough compelling reason for the state to want to interfere into the market phenomenon just as yet, unless it affects the overall affordability for the masses and causes asset-driven inflation in the economy," Chua said.