SINGAPORE — New private home sales rose 29.1 per cent in September from a year ago, further reflecting a recovery in the property market.

Data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday (Oct 16) showed that developers sold 657 new private homes last month, compared with 509 units a year ago. The figure excludes executive condominiums (ECs).

The transactions last month slowed from August, however, but largely because of the Hungry Ghost Festival, where buyers and sellers traditionally shun doing business — only 73 units were launched. Total units sold in August was at a revised 1,246 units.

The EC segment saw developers moving 249 units last month, 27 per cent lower than the 341 units in August. Year-on-year, total EC units sold fell by 4 per cent, as 260 units were moved in September 2016.

“The main reason for the large decrease (from August) was the absence of new project launches in September — Le Quest in Bukit Batok was launched in August, where 286 units were sold. Also, a large part of the Hungry Ghost Month was in September and this could have somewhat affected buying decisions,” said Mr Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Realty Network.

Adding September’s figures, the first three quarters of the year registered sales of 9,053 private residential units and 3,596 ECs, noted Mr Lim.

Experts had earlier cited a turnaround in the property market, in light of news of private home prices rising for the first time in nearly four years in the third quarter. Prices went up 0.5 per cent in the three months ended Sept 30, versus the 0.1 per cent decline between April and June, flash estimates from the URA earlier this month showed.

“With third quarter 2017 private property prices registering a first-time increase in four years, more buyers are likely commit to a purchase earlier rather than wait, as prices are largely expected to continue to increase in the coming months,” Mr Lim noted.

Chief executive of PropNex Realty Ismail Gafoor added: “With the stronger sense of urgency amongst buyers, we believe that transactions will finish strong in the last quarter as buyers are making a move now to purchase properties, sensing that prices are set to increase in the future with the higher land bids and enbloc prices.”

Mr Lim expects a boost in transaction volume in the coming months, with Parc Botannia by Sing Holdings and Wee Hur expected to launch next month. “We are expecting total private residential sales to be in the range of 10,000 to 12,000 units and EC sales of 3,800 to 4,200 units for 2017,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Ismail predicts that total transactions this year may cross the 16,000 mark with 11,000 to 12,000 private properties and 4,000 ECs.