Private home sales to rebound in January: experts

More than 20 new condo projects will launch throughout 2024.

After new home sales plunged to near the lowest level since the global financial crisis, property analysts are expecting Singapore’s private residential market to rebound this month with three major projects launching in the next two weeks.

Wong Siew Ying, research and content head at PropNex Realty, said the scheduled launch of the 172-unit The Arcady at Boon Keng as well as the 341-unit Hillhaven at Hillview Rise will likely drive home sales this month. 

City Developments Ltd’s Lumina Grand EC project in Bukit Batok is also expected to garner strong interest among homebuyers considering the lower price point of such public-private hybrid type of housing.

Tricia Song, CBRE’s head for research, sees home buying sentiment to remain muted for the first half of 2024, although she expects January to see a “significant rebound in sales” due to the scheduled project launches.

Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed new private home sales, excluding ECs, plunged by 83% to 135 units in December to mark the lowest monthly sales tally the city-state has ever seen since January 2009.

READ MORE: New home sales tumble to near 15-year low in December

For the whole of 2023, developers were estimated to have sold 6,452 private homes, 9.1% down year on year and the lowest annual sales since 2008.

“In the near term, downbeat macroeconomic conditions, cooling measures and elevated interest rates are likely to continue weighing on the private residential market but sentiment could improve in H2 2024 if interest rates ease and the economy recovers,” said Song.

Leonard Tay, research head at Knight Frank, estimated more than 20 new projects with around 10,000 new units will be placed on the market throughout 2024, boosting housing supply further which will result in softer price growth.

Tay echoed that the ongoing economic uncertainties and elevated borrowing costs will temper demand for private homes as some homebuyers may opt to adopt a wait-and-see approach.

“Some price pressures may be alleviated since there will be more supply this year,” OrangeTee & Tie said in a separate note. “We predict prices of new private homes to climb slower, around 2% to 4%.”