Homes sold in January up 43% MoM despite cooling measures

It's even higher than last year's  1,872 units.

True to form, it appears that of late, new home sales tend to rise shortly after each cooling measure, said Savills analyst Alan Cheong.

For this January, it was no different, with the 2,013 units sold, being 43% higher than December’s and stronger than even last January’s 1,872 units.

Here's from Alan Cheong:

Intuitively, we know that new or re-launches like La Fiesta (404 sold), D’Leedon (263 sales), Q Bay Residences (372 sold) and Spottiswoode Suites (91 sold) contributed to the bulk of the new home sales. These 4 projects made up 56% of total sales in February.

For the month of February, the focus will be on Sennett Residences (310 units), and Urban Vista (592 units). A successful take-up of these projects at prices in the $1,500 – 1,600 psf range would send a clear message to legions of naysayers that property prices are not coming down and demand is still firm, probably at the 1,500 unit level.

For the month of March, more mammoth projects are expected to be launched in the likes of Bartley Ridge (868 units) and The Trilinq (755 units).
The recent passage of the population white paper plus the release of the land use plan is sending a subliminal message to the public to act given that the future looks bright for residential properties. With liquidity aplenty and price expectations still positive, the power drivers for private residential properties are stronger than the retarding factors.

We therefore expect prices for mass market non-landed non-EC residential properties to rise by 10% for the full year. For the Core Central Region, its price index in the near term may be weighed down by D’Leedon. However, once stocks there have been depleted or discounts discontinued, it should rebound sharply.

In a way, the year 2013 got off to an numerically auspicious start with 2013 non-EC sales. What more can we ask for? As the Alfred E. Neuman (the fictive mascot of Mad magazine) would say: What me worry?