Are weak August home sales the start of a sinking residential market?

Sales were down 56.6% compared to July.

Singapore residential home sales clocked in uninspiring figures in August, but analysts are confident that the numbers are not an omen for the local home market.

According to a report by Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL), private residential units sold by developers tumbled 56.6% month-on-month to 473 units in August, due to the Lunar Seventh month. In contrast to August 2015, sales slipped 7.8%.

However, the drop in sales comes as no surprise—market activity tends to slow during this period as many buyers consider the month to be inauspicious.

“The subdued sales by developers in August is partly due to the absence of new projects being launched and is not a clear indicator of where the market is heading,” stated Ong Teck Hui, National Director of Research & Consultancy at JLL.

“The resale market on the other hand shows that buyers were no less active in August which recorded 762 caveats compared to the 752 in July. This shows that buyers are still fairly positive about the residential market following the improvement in sentiments since March this year,” he added.