Private new home sales – excluding executive condos (ECs) – fell by 26.9% m-o-m to 928 units in October, according to developers’ monthly sales data released by the URA. However, this is an 84.9% increase from the 502 units sold in October 2018.
The drastic fall in sales on a m-o-m basis came as new launches declined 48% m-o-m to 892 units in October. “There were fewer attractive launches,” comments Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at Colliers International.
Source: Colliers
The best-selling private residential projects in October was Parc Esta, which moved 92 units at a median price of $1,686 psf. This was followed by Treasure at Tampines, which sold 88 units at a median price of $1,373 psf. Neu at Novena took third place, transacting 54 units at a median price of $2,585 psf. Parc Botannia moved 49 units at a median price of $1,334 psf, while Midtown Bay saw 48 units sold at a median price of $2,900 psf.
New home sales for October was mainly driven by Singaporeans, observes Wong Xian Yang, senior manager, research, for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield. Singaporeans made up 82% of the buyers, followed by permanent residents at 11%, and foreigners at 7%.
From January to October 2019, developers sold 8,397 new homes (excluding ECs), a 12.5% increase from 7,461 sold over the same period in 2018.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Wong believes this points to “market resilience and strong pent-up demand” in the property market.
“Singaporeans are still bullish on the long-term prospects for Singapore residential private property, despite cooling measures. Given the uncertain economic environment and geo-political developments in the region, Singapore real estate is perceived as a ‘safe haven’ for growth and preservation of wealth,” she adds.
Meanwhile, new residential project launches in November include Sengkang Grand Residences and Pullman Residences. Sengkang Grand Residences sold 216 of the 280 units released at its weekend launch on Nov 2 and 3, at an average selling price of $1,700 psf, notes Colliers’ Song.
“We believe the good demand at Sengkang Grand Residences could be due to it being the first integrated community and lifestyle hub in the north-east region. It appears buyers are willing to award a 30% premium for superior convenience and amenities, as pure residential projects nearby such as The Quartz (completed in 2009) and Jewel (2016) transacted at about $1,000 to $1,300 psf in 2019 to-date,” remarks Song.
On the other hand, Pullman Residences, a 340-unit hotel-branded residences with concierge services in Newton, sold 12 out of 25 units released over its Nov 9 and 10 weekend launch, at an average price of $3,000 psf.
OrangeTee & Tie has observed that the number of private homes sold above $2,500 psf reached 844 units for January to October 2019, hitting a 10-year high. In October alone, 186 units were sold above $2,500 psf.
Luxury properties in Singapore remained popular among both locals and foreigners, states OrangeTee. Singaporeans made up 72.7% of buyers, purchasing 133 of non-landed new homes in the Core Central Region (CCR) in October.
The number of new luxury non-landed homes bought by foreigners in the CCR continued to rise, with 36 units sold in October.
From January to October 2019, foreigners bought 173 new luxury non-landed homes, which is higher than the number sold over the same period in 2016 (160 units), 2017 (150 units) and 2018 (161 units).
Colliers’ Song expects new home “prices to continue to stabilise and rise by 2% for the full year 2019.” However, this “will likely be kept in check with the economic slowdown and an ample launch pipeline”, which comprises 4,653 private homes (excluding ECs) that have been launched but remain unsold, she notes.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Wong forecasts that total new home sales are likely to reach 9,500 to 10,500 units this year, surpassing 2018’s sales of 8,795 units.
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