New home sales reach one-year high in July

SINGAPORE — New private home sales in the Republic surged to a one-year high in July, buoyed by a new development in Jurong and stepped-up efforts to clear units in previously launched projects ahead of the Hungry Ghost Festival this month.

Developers sold 1,091 new private homes last month, more than doubling the 536 homes that were offloaded in June, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data showed on Monday (Aug 15). It was also the highest sales volume registered since July 2015 when 1,655 units exchanged hands. The monthly increase came as developers launched 624 new homes into the market in July, nearly three times the previous month’s 234 units, the URA said. However, compared to the same a year ago, this was 57.5 per cent lower than July 2015’s 1,469 units. 

“The surge in primary home sales in July was largely in response to the sensitive pricing of the only major private property launch in the month — Lake Grande, which reignited buying interest and accounted for more than 40 per cent of the total number of units sold,” said chief executive of PropNex Realty Ismail Gafoor.

Mr Desmond Sim, head of CBRE Research in Singapore and South-east Asia, noted that units from previously launched projects continued to find buyers as well.

“Sales figures for July 2016 indicate continued traction for the stock of unsold units from ongoing projects ... The cut-back in fresh supply has certainly helped to clear the inventory as buyers continue to commit to the purchase of a home,” he said.

Lake Grande in Jurong, the major new launch last month, saw 464 homes sold out of the 500 units launched, at a median S$1,368 per square foot, making it the best-selling development.

Coming in second was a previously-launched project The Trilinq in Clementi, where 42 units were offloaded at a median S$1,393 psf.

The strong performance of the two projects led to the Outside Central Region (OCR), or suburbs, to once again dominate monthly sales at 825 units.

This was followed by the Rest of Central Region (RCR), or city fringes, where 213 transactions were recorded, while the Core Central Region (CCR), or city centre, registered 53 sales, the URA said.

The executive condominium (EC) segment also stirred, with sales more than tripling to 830 units in July compared to the previous month’s 232 units. This came as developers launched 862 ECs into the market after taking a break in June, according to the URA statistics. Treasure Crest in Anchorvale Crescent was the top-selling EC development of last month, with 398 of its 504 units on offer finding buyers at a median S$751 psf.

Analysts said the improved sentiment should continue if developers price their offerings right amid the continued enforcement of cooling measures and loan curbs.

However, sales volume for August will likely fall due to the Hungry Ghost Festival, considered by some as an inauspicious time for major transactions.

“Sales performance will likely hover at an average of about 500 to 700 units per month for the rest of the year ... Transactions will continue to be launch-driven, largely dependent on the price and location of the project,” said Mr Ismail.