New private home sales crashed 51% in April

Only 1,375 units were sold.

According to P & N Holdings Pte Ltd, new private home sales took a nosedive in transaction volume in April with 1,375 units sold (excluding ECs), down 51% from the previous month. This is largely due to the lack of major launches in April as developers were waiting for necessary permits and relevant authority clearance prior to the launches.

“The transaction volume in April is still considered healthy as homebuyers are attracted to new launches due to the promotions and discounts to offset the higher additional buyers' stamp duties offered by developers. The April numbers show that well located new homes that are competitively and sensitively priced will continue to sell well. In fact, the top best-selling projects (Bartley Ridge and D’nest) were also the top performers in March 2013.

First-time homebuyers are believed to be the main driver of sale since investors' appetite has been somewhat moderated by the latest round of cooling measures.

January's measures imposed an increase in ABSD (Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty) and minimum cash down-payment, on top of a lower LTV (loan-to-value) ratio, for buyers purchasing a second or subsequent house,” according to Mr Mohamed Ismail, Chief Executive Officer of PropNex Realty.

With affordability being a key consideration especially after the imposition of the additional measures, homebuyers continued to be drawn to the relatively more affordable mass-market homes in the Outside Central Region (OCR) in April—which contributed to the lion’s share of developer sales—with 56% of all transactions.

The top-seller was Bartley Ridge with 154 units sold at median prices $1,278psf, Sant Ritz at Pheng Geck Avenue sold 104 units at $1,494psf, D'Nest in Pasir Ris with 92 units sold at a median price of $959psf. The Topiary (EC) sold 80 units at $714psf and Jade Residences with 79 units sold at $1,592psf.

“Sales volume in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) has been catching up with 431 units (31% of total sale units) sold as Bartley Ridge was the main contributor in pushing up the RCR demand due to the attractive pricing at $1,278psf compared to some of the projects in OCR. Moving forward, primary private home sales could take a respite from the rather strong run up in 1Q13.

Nevertheless, the latest 1Q13 HDB result released last month showed that HDB resale price was still up by 1.3% q-o-q—and this could sustain upgraders’ demand for mass market projects in the OCR in the coming months,” remarked Mr Ismail.

However, he cautions against expecting an over-exuberant private property as seen in March.