Condo resale volumes fall by 11.4% in May

Analysts say fewer viewings during the heightened alert period dragged resale volume down.

An estimated 1,722 condominium units were resold in May, an 11.4% decrease from last month, according to latest SRX data.

This is still 811.1% higher than the resale figures registered in May 2020, which was during the Circuit Breaker, and 86.6% higher than the 5-year average volumes for the month of May.

Broken down by regions, 59.3% of resales were from the OCR, 23.0% from RCR and 17.6% from CCR.

Prices of RCR and OCR units increased by 1.8% and 0.8% respectively, while CCR prices decreased by 0.7% in May month-on-month.

Overall, prices increased by 0.9% month-on-month and by 6.9% year-on-year.

The highest transaction was for a $13.3m unit at The Marq on Paterson Hill.

The overall median capital gain in May is $190,800, a decrease of $9,200 from April 2021.

“The tighter safe management measures implemented in May 2021 to curb the spread of COVID-19 within the community have probably restricted the number of property viewings, due to limits on social interactions. Some sellers and buyers may also have paused viewings to reduce the potential risk of being exposed to the virus. As a result, this has put a slight drag on condo resale volume,” said PropNex Head of Research and Content Wong Siew Ying.

“Last month's sales decline was mitigated by certain factors. For instance, both buyers and agents were growing more accustomed to the use of technology. Therefore, some of them were able to adjust quickly to remote viewings. Other buyers have probably viewed the units before restrictions kicked in and were able to proceed with their home purchases,” added Christine Sun, Senior Vice President of Research & Analytics for OrangeTee.