OCR homes kicked out of the spotlight as mass-market launches dived 67.9% in Q3

Only 527 new condos were released.

Houses in the Outside Central Region have long dominated primary market sales. But mass-market houses in the OCR have been dragged out of the limelight the number of new launches plunged 67.9% in the third quarter.

According to Colliers, developers released a mere 527 new mass-market homes, 67.9% lower than the 1,640 new homes released in the preceding three months.

“The absence of major project launches caused a steep dent in the sales volume of new homes in the OCR by 55.3% QoQ to 742 units in 3Q 2014. As a result, the mass market segment, which has been dominating primary market sales since 3Q 2010, accounted for only 38.3% of all units launched and 46.9% of all units sold in 3Q 2014,” noted the report.

Here’s more from Colliers: 

In 3Q 2014, UOL Group launched Seventy Saint Patrick’s in the OCR. The 186-unit project proved to be popular with homebuyers who took up 110 of the 140 units launched.

The proximity of the project to the Marine Terrace Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the future Thomson East Coast Line (TEL) as well as its freehold tenure helped to draw homebuyers. Prices achieved ranged from $1,400 to 1,795 per sq ft in the quarter ending in September.

Aside from Seventy Saint Patrick’s, primary market buying activity in the suburban areas was generally limited to popular projects launched in the earlier quarters, such as The Panorama in Ang Mo Kio, Lakeville in the Jurong Lake District and Coco Palms in Pasir Ris, which sold 80 units, 74 units and 57 units, respectively, in 3Q 2014.