There’s been more signs of a slowdown in the private property market here in the second quarter.
Property consultant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) forecasts some 4,000 new homes were sold in the second quarter, lower than the previous quarter’s figure of 4,380.
In the resale market, CBRE estimates some 3,400 to 3,600 resale homes were sold in the second quarter.
If confirmed, that would be 15 to 20 percent lower than the 4,261 resale homes sold in the previous quarter.
Sub-sales numbered around 500, down from 806 in the previous quarter as the market became less bullish.
Sellers were also mindful of the stamp duty payable if they sold their property within a year of purchase.
In addition, the number of HDB upgraders buying private homes slipped.
About 33.7 per cent of new home buyers in the second quarter this year had HDB addresses. That’s lower than the 37.9 per cent of HDB upgraders making up the buyers of new homes in the previous quarter.
CBRE said the reduction could be attributed to a smaller supply of mass-market type of projects being launched in the second quarter.
Nevertheless, CBRE forecasts about 8,300 new homes were sold in the first half of this year. This is about 56.5 per cent of the 14,688 new homes sold for all of last year.
The projects that sold well in the second quarter were mostly in the low- to mid- tier price range projects like the Tree House condominium in Chestnut Avenue and The Minton in Hougang.
CBRE predicts that overall home prices in the second quarter could reflect a rise of between 2 and 3 per cent on-quarter.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 29 Jun 2010