New private home sales plunge 47.7% in October as developers market less projects

This translates to 932 sold units.

New private home sales crashed 47.7% MoM to 487 in October from the 932 sold units in September, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The sharp sales decline was brought about by home builders failing to market new projects as quickly as before, with only 202 apartments launched for sale in October. This is 82.7% lower than the 1,169 units launched in September.

In fact, the bulk of monthly purchases were for 2- and 3-bedroom units as buyers were lured to apartments of lower quantum, said Lee Nai Jia, senior director and head of research at Knight Frank.

Including executive condominium (EC) units, the number of sold units fell 46% MoM and 48% YoY to 510 units.

“October was a relatively quiet month with just one high-end residential launch, 10 Evelyn (56 units) at Newton,” CBRE Singapore & Southeast Asia head of research Desmond Sim said in a statement. “In the wake of measured demand, developers are phasing out their launches strategically. On the other hand, buyers are spoilt for choice with the buffet of projects on the market.”

OrangeTee & Tie however noted that buying sentiment remained firm despite the absence of major launches, with 485 units sold coming from existing launches.

“This is higher than the average 460 units sold from existing launches over the last 12 months,” OrangeTee & Tie head of research and consultancy Christine Sun said. “This shows that demand for new homes at existing launches have seen a general pick up three months after the cooling measures.”

The negative impact of the higher ABSD and tighter loan-to-value limits may be starting to wear off as buyers appear to be entering the property market as prices stabilise and lunar ghost month is over in early September, added Sun.

This manifested in healthy take-up of Affinity at Serangoon which shifted 81 units at a median price of SGD1,499 psf; Stirling Residences which sold 75 units at a median price of SGD 1,738 psf; Riverfront Residences transacted 55 units at a median price of SGD 1,327 psf; and Park Colonial moved 52 units at a median price of SGD 1,754 psf, Tricia Song, Head of Research for Singapore, Colliers International said.

Singapore can look forward to a boost in developer sales volume in November following development launches in the month such as Whistler Grand, Belgravia Green, Arena Residences, Kent Ridge Hill Residences and The Woodleigh Residences.

“All in all, we are expecting 9,000 to 10,000 units of private residential units to be sold in the primary market for 2018, down from the 10,566 units in 2017,” added ERA.