Condo resale prices remain firm in September despite rise in demand: SRX

More buyers are flocking the resale market for "value buys", an analyst said.

Condo resale prices remained firm in September despite the rise in demand, inching up 0.1% compared to the previous August, and by the same amount over September last year, according to the latest data released by SRX said. The Core Central Region (CCR) and Rest of Central Region (RCR) saw a marginal resale price hike of 0.5% and 0.8% respectively, whilst Outside the Central Region (OCR) saw a 0.5% decline.

On a yearly basis, prices in the RCR and OCR inched up 1% and 1.2% respectively whilst CCR prices slid 4%.

Around 1,286 resale condominium units changed ownership in September, 0.4% higher than in August and 62.8% higher than September 2019, SRX figures showed.

Prices of resale condominiums remained strong despite an uptick in demand, with more than 1,000 units for three consecutive months.

Volumes are 62.8% higher than in September 2019, and 64.5% higher than the five-year average volumes for that month. Breaking down by regions, 56.4% of the volumes are from OCR, 25.3% from RCR and 18.3% from CCR.

Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie research and consultancy head, said more buyers are flocking the resale market for “value buys”, particularly large and attractively-priced units. Citing URA Realis data, she noted that around 33.9% resale transactions in September were for units between 800 sq ft) and 1,200 sq ft, whilst 47.7% were for units measuring 1,200 sq ft and above.

A Le Nouvel Ardmore condo unit in Tanglin which went for $16.2m bagged September’s most expensive resale purchase. In the RCR, the highest price was for a $5.1m unit at Camelot By-The-Water in Tanjong Rhu Road, while the OCR's highest sale was a $4.8m unit at The Trilinq in Clementi.

Moreover, ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said that the new restrictions on developers re-issuing options to purchase (OTPs) announced on 28 September may cause some buyers to explore the resale property market instead.