Good bargains lure cautious buyers back into the struggling property market

But demand recovery is not broad-based.

The surge in April’s private residential sales data might lead some to believe that there is a definite pick-up in buyer demand. However, analysts warn that overall market sentiment remains muted and reasonable prices and good locations are still key to attracting buyers.

PropNex CEO Ismail Gafoor noted buying interest will remain selective in coming months on back of the continued enforcement of cooling measures.

“Bargain hunting is likely to be the main focus of buyers. There is a definite pick-up in market momentum but whether it can be sustained largely depends on the project’s location and its pricing level,” said Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty.

Alice Tan, Director & Head of Research of Knight Frank Singapore, noted that best-selling projects are marked by strong fundamentals such as development quality, an attractive location, a less competitive environment in the market area, and value-for-money pricing.

“Most new launches seem to have settled into a pattern of a strong initial flurry of sales, followed by a standstill until something new occurs – another nearby launch, developer dangles new incentives, fresh marketing campaign, etc. One thing is clear though – even in this difficult environment, some projects do better than others,” Tan said.

JLL’s National Director for Research & Consultancy Ong Teck Hui stated that in this challenging market, the only way to lure buyers is to have a unique product offering with defined competitive advantages.

“Without that, it would purely be a pricing game which makes it much harder to compete against other projects. The subsequent months’ sales performance will depend on the sales progress of the large projects launched recently and whether there will be significant fresh launches to keep the momentum going,” he said.