AFTER rising sharply during the last six months, membership prices for golf clubs appear to have reached a plateau of sorts.

At least that is the way some membership brokers describe it.

Indeed, the latest numbers show a distinct flattening out, especially among second tier clubs which have gained substantially in percentage terms.

This comes after a sharp surge which kicked in around March, in tandem with the equity market rally. And since then, open market prices of memberships have risen by about 25 per cent on average.

But the latest indications suggest the price rally may be over, at least judging by the BT Golf index, which seems to be finding it tough to crack the 200-point level.

For October, this composite index of open market golf club membership prices was 195.62 points. In fact, the index has been hovering at this level for the past two months and is just four points up from June's levels.

Of the 11 club memberships tracked by BT, only two saw an increase in open market prices - Sentosa Golf Club and Tanah Merah Country Club. Raffles Country Club remained steady at $50,000, while Seletar Country Club held at $45,000.

This flattening out in the overall price trend has prompted some membership dealers to call a 'sell' on golf club memberships.

'My personal view is that this is a good time to sell if you want to make some money,' said Lee Lee Langdale of Singolf.

'The stock market has performed very strongly in the past few months, but the outlook for the coming months seems rather stormy. If the stock market tanks or goes into a flux, we can expect the prices of golf club memberships to follow suit.'

Indeed, this is what happened a year ago when membership prices hit new five-year lows amid panic in the financial market in the wake of the Lehman Brothers collapse.

Prices remained soft for the next five months amid mounting job losses and departures by erstwhile high-fliers of the financial industry.

While no one is predicting a return to the 'bad old days' just yet, the increasing uncertainty about the direction of the equity markets is causing potential buyers to pause.

Indeed, membership brokers report a slight increase in enquiries on the sell side, mostly from holders who fear another market collapse.

But even in the event of a stockmarket pullback, top-tier clubs have more downside resilience than second-liners, say membership brokers.

Singapore Island & Country Club membership remains at $200,000, though this was down slightly from its $205,000 levels several months ago. Raffles Country Club was steady at $50,000.

On the other hand, there were noticeable weaknesses in the membership prices of Jurong Country Club and Keppel Club.

The former is due for an upgrade, while the latter is looking at the prospect of being relocated to a site in the Seletar area in the north-east part of the island. Both need cash for their respective projects and speculation is that they could go to members for funds.

So where to from here for membership prices?

If you believe the membership brokers, prices will move sidewards unless there is a catalyst, such as a second wind for the equity market.

The bottom line is, if you have multiple memberships, consider some consolidation and take some cash off the table.