Private home sales plunge 25% in June

Market sentiment in the private residential sector remained largely sanguine in Q2 as 4,444 new homes (excluding executive condominiums) were sold. This is a 24% quarter-on-quarter and 10% year-on-year increase. Primary demand in May and June also rose 45% and 40% year-on-year respectively.

However, on a month-on-month basis, primary sales in May and June slipped 13% and 25% respectively. This may indicate that some buyers became more cautious in the later half of Q2, as the macro economy grows more uncertain and the domestic real estate policy overhang remains a major concern for investors.

Primary sales (excluding executive condominiums) continued to be driven by the mass-market home segment where 61% of total new sales were in the outside central region in Q2. Some of the best-selling new projects, such as The Woodhaven, Seastrand, Miltonia Residences and Terrasse, were also located in this region.

In contrast, only 578 new luxury homes were sold in Q2. A lack of major new project launches in the core central region could be a reason for the subdued home interest. Similarly, speculative activities remained low as the percentage of subsales dipped from 8.3% in Q1 to 7.4% in Q2.