Sales of new private homes in Singapore fell 36 per cent in October from a year earlier, as there were barely any new launches in the month.
Developers sold 487 units last month – excluding executive condominiums (ECs) – compared with 761 units in October 2017, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday (Nov 15).
On a month-on-month basis, sales fell by about 48 per cent in October from the 932 units sold in September, URA data showed.
A total of 202 new homes were launched by developers last month, an 83 per cent drop from the 1,169 units launched in September.
Despite the low number of transactions last month, buying sentiment in Singapore remains resilient, said analysts.
“The decrease was within expectations, as there was no major new launch in the month,” said ERA Realty’s Eugene Lim.
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“Despite the lower number of units launched, demand from buyers remained resilient. Units sold were 3.7 times that of units launched,” he noted.
According to OrangeTee’s head of research and consultancy Christine Sun, demand for new homes at existing launches has seen a general pick-up three months after cooling measures were introduced.
“In fact, many existing launches have seen an increase in sales or maintained their sales performance when compared to September,” she said.
“Buyers who were waiting on the sidelines may be returning to the market since there is greater market clarity and prices seemed to be stabilising or consolidating at certain market segments.”
Analysts also said November’s sales figures are likely to pick up, in line with the launch of several projects.
“With the numerous new launches in November such as Parc Esta, Whistler Grand, Belgravia Green and an upcoming Ken Ridge Hill Residences, we expect that transactions will likely reach 1,000 units for November 2018,” said Mr Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty.
Including ECs, a total of 510 new units were sold in October, a drop from the 972 units in the same period a year ago.
Source: Channel NewsAsia – 15 Oct 2018