Chart of the Day: Only 261 units were rolled out in February

Possible culprit for the 62% sales drop.

According to CIMB, new home sales collapsed 62% yoy in Feb, possibly due to the lack of new launches, the CNY lull period and the recent policy curbs.

The sell-through rate remains high, suggesting that this headline figure could be a one-off, though discounts and rebates look like a trend.

Only 261 new units were launched during the month compared to 2.2k units in Feb 2012. But the sell-through rate remained very strong at 3.5x of units launched in the month, an indication that the situation is not as bearish as suggested by the headline numbers.

Here's more from CIMB:

The strong take-up of projects launched recently such as Sennet Resi and The Triling is expected to show in the next month’s figures.

We believe that Feb’s figure is not indicative of any particular trend. What is still evident is the rebates and discounts that developers are giving to move sales, particularly at D’Leedon in Feb.

We believe that this trend could continue and put pressure on margins as the cooling measures in place continue to restrict pricing power.

Our mid- to longer-term worry continues to be supply.