Developers' March sales predicted to breach 2,000 units

Buyers still haven't lost their appetite.

According to Savills, notwithstanding the latest cooling measures, the healthy sales numbers were a clear and unmistakable sign that the penchant for buying mass-market homes was still very strong.

It therefore suggests that homebuyers would not wait too long on the sidelines, surmounting the increased hurdles, eg, the 7% ABSD for Singaporeans buying their second home.

Major projects that hit the market in March, such as Bartley Ridge, D’Nest, Hillion Residences, Sennett Residence, The Trilinq and Urban Vista, saw robust sales.

Here's more from Savills:

At the biggest project, D’Nest, buyers snapped up 500 of the 650 units released within a few days of its preview launch. In view of the sheer number of units launched and the strong take-up, developer sales in March are likely to breach 2,000 units. 

To prevent any potential bubble bursting amid rock-bottom interest rates, the government announced a new set of cooling measures that took effect on 12 January, which included:

Raising the ABSD rates by between 5 and 7 ppts across the board.

Imposing ABSD on PRs buying their first residential property and Singaporeans buying their second residential property.

Lowering the loan-to-value (LTV) limits for individuals with at least one outstanding loan, as well as for nonindividuals such as companies

Increasing the minimum cash down-payment for individuals applying for a second or subsequent housing loan from 10% to 25%