New private home sales dropped 50.1% to 601 units in December 2018

Developers launched a mere 101 units in December compared to November’s 1,341.

New private home sales crashed 50.1% MoM in December 2018 to 601 units compared to the 1,201 units sold in November, statistics from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) revealed. On a YoY basis however, sales climbed 39.7%.

Property developers launched a total of 101 units for sale which is a far cry from November’s 1,341 units launched. Including executive condominium (EC) units, developers sold a total of 605 units in December which represents a 13.9% YoY increase.

“Sales demand is relatively healthy considering no new projects were launched last month and the traditional lull period for buying activities during the year-end holidays,” OrangeTee & Tie’s head of research and consultancy Christine Sun said in a statement.

Of the 101 units released for sale,100 were from an existing launch at Affinity in Serangoon.

Also read: Developers take a beating as new home sales set to crash 20% in 2019

URA noted how Parc Esta reported the most units sold in December with 160 with at a median price of $1,687 psf. It was followed by Whistler Grand with 128 units sold at a median price of $1,327 psf. Rounding up the top five private residential projects for December were Riverfront Residences (47 units sold), Parc Colonial (43 units sold) and Stirling Residences (34 units sold).

“Developer sales tally for the whole of 2018 is expected to reach about 9,264 units excluding ECs, which is within our earlier projection of between 9,000 and 10,000 units,” Sun noted. “The sales volume for 2018 is lower than that of 2017 but higher than 2014, 2015 and 2016. About 40% of developer sales were transacted in the last five months of last year, indicating that sales demand is encouraging given the onslaught of market challenges.”

This was echoed by Huttons Asia’s head of research Lee Sze Teck, citing how amidst cooling measures imposed in 2018, the underlying demand for property remained strong. For the whole of 2018, developers sold an estimated 9,200 units against a launch of approximately 8,700 units, data revealed.

“This is the fourth consecutive year where the number of units sold outpaced the number of units launched,” Lee commented. “This largely showed that developers have gotten their product mix and pricing spot on.”

Whilst macro-economic conditions remain uncertain, Singapore’s economic growth and job market are expected to remain firm this year, according to Sun.

“A bonanza of between 19,000 and 21,000 new homes from over 60 new projects are expected to be launched-ready this year,” she highlighted. “We anticipate that the current buying momentum will continue and the supply-led demand may see developers’ home sales reaching 10,000 to 11,000 units for 2019. Many projects are expected to be launched after the Chinese New Year including The Florence Residences and Treasure @ Tampines.”