Monthly sales of residential units slump by 12% to 1,575

Sales volume decreased significantly in the Core Central Region (CCR) with a 43% drop in May following April’s increase of 14%.

In a report, Jones Lang LaSalle said that the drop in URA monthly sales volume for private residential units this May did not include Executive Condominiums. The Outside Central Region saw sales volume continue to increase, up by 5% in May. Sales volume in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) also fell this month, by 27% to 347 units.

The number of launches also fell across the board, with developers holding back on launching new properties while there is a large amount of unsold stock still on the market, most notably in the CCR. The fall in launches however did help to boost the take-up rate to 130% island-wide as residual supply is absorbed.

The OCR continued to enjoy an increase in sales volume, and saw a 5% m-o-m increase to 1,056 units in May, and recorded more than 1,000 units sold for the second consecutive month. However, the number of launches fell by 24% to 964 in May, the majority of which came from four projects namely Terrasse (200 units), Foresque Residences (172 units), Eight Courtyards (120 units) and The Foresta @ Mount Faber (141 units).

All four projects enjoyed high levels of take-up of 79% or more. The OCR continues to see a mopping up of previously launched units, with several developments enjoying a take-up rate of more than 100% in May (i.e. number of units sold is higher than number of units launched in the month) including 448@East Coast, The Waterline, The Lakefront Residences and Eight Courtyards.

There were also six new launches, The Foresta @ Mount Faber and Auralis, both of which enjoyed take-up of 79%, Vibes @ East Coast which secured sales of all the 36 units launched this month, H Residences which sold 15 of the 17 available units, Foresque Residences where 172 units were launched for sale and Terrasse where 200 of the 414 units at the development were launched for sale, 184 of which were sold.

The CCR experienced significant falls in both sales volume and launches, decreasing by 43% m-o-m to 172 units and 76% m-o-m to 94 units, respectively. This is the lowest number of launches since March 2009 and highlights the existing supply pressure in this market as previously launched units remain unsold.

The largest launch this month was at Skysuites@Anson where 68 units were launched but only 28 sold. Much of the sales volume (65%) came at developments where no new units were launched and buyers are starting to absorb the excess supply of units that have already launched in the market.

For example, no new units were launched at D’Leedon but 28 units were sold, similarly at 10 Shelford where 27 units were sold and at The Trizon, Loft @ Nathan and Lincoln Suites where a further 5 units were sold at each development.

The RCR also witnessed a fall in both sales volume and number of launches. The number of units launched fell by 61% m-o-m to 157 while sales volume fell by 27% m-o-m to 347 units. There were several new launches in this region, mainly of small boutique developments.

At The Interweave, the first 60 of 169 units were launched, with 98% of units securing sales in May. In addition, 15 units were launched at Ceylon Point and 10 units at The Amerald Studio, all of which were sold, plus a further 48 units at Viento, although only six of the units launched secured sales.

While the OCR appears to have rebounded strongly following the introduction of further cooling measures in January, our analysis of the monthly rate of change in sales volume in the OCR highlights that while the market has rebounded, the policy measures are helping to prevent the massive peaks in demand seen after previous policy measures were introduced.