Sales of new private homes plunged nearly 80 per cent in December compared to a month ago, as developers held off new property launches.
According to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), just 259 units of new private homes were sold in December, down from 1,228 units transacted in November.
Among the units sold, 125 are located in the suburban areas, 90 units in the city fringe, and 44 units in the core central region.
URA data showed that just 118 new units were launched in December. With the exception of one unit in the suburban area, the rest of the new private homes launched were in the city area.
Including sales from executive condominium projects, 333 new units were sold in December, down from 1,714 units in November.
December may be a typically quiet period but property consultants said the weak sales performance in December was mainly due to the government’s cooling measures.
This brings the total annual sales volume in 2013 to 14,980 units, which is some 30 per cent lower than 2012 sales.
Going forward, some market experts expect property prices to weaken in 2014.
“We are forecasting softening of prices of between five to eight per cent for the entire market,” said Chua Yang Liang, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 15 Jan 2014