Singapore private home sales down 15 pct in Aug.

Singapore's private home sales fell 15 percent on-month in August, as developers continued to scale back new launches, according to statistics released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday.

Some 490 new units were sold in August, down from 560 units in the previous month. The lacklustre sales came as developers continued to scale back new launches, with just 351 units launched in August, down from the 441 units in July.

Private homes are those developed by private developers. About 80 percent of the resident households in Singapore live in spacious public housing units built and sold by the government. The private homes are typically more expensive than public housing units.

The property prices in Singapore have been stabilizing in recent months, after authorities put in place several rounds of cooling measures to curb speculation in the real estate market.