SINGAPORE — Home sales in the Republic more than tripled last month compared with the same period last year, as developers released new projects to meet the pick-up in demand.

According to analysts, vastly improved market sentiment was behind the boost in sales.

Data released yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed that property developers sold 977 units in February, compared with 303 units in the same month last year and 382 units in January this year.

It was the highest February sales since 2012, based on URA’s data.

Some 550 units were marketed by developers last month, five times higher than the 108 units in January.

The Clement Canopy by United Venture Development (Clementi) sold 207 of the 250 units marketed at a median price of S$1,343 per sqf.

This was the highest number of units sold by a developer in February, followed by Parc Riviera by El Development (West Coast), which sold all of the 200 units released last month at a median price of S$1,281 psf.

The Asana at Queen’s Road by Aurum Land was the highest priced transaction of the month, at $2,594 psf for a single unit sold.

“Faced with a gamut of choices, buyers can either afford to take a longer time to decide on a purchase or target new projects for the first dibs on choice units at attractive rates,” said Mr Desmond Sim, head of CBRE Research, Singapore and South-east Asia.

Sales for March are expected to remain at a similar level, he said.

According to Mr Ong Teck Hui, national director of research and consultancy at JLL, the sharp increase in homes sales last month reflects a greater sense of confidence from both developers and buyers.

New launches worth watching out for include Grandeur Park Residences this month and Park Place Residences and Seaside Residences expected later this year, he said.

The fact that 770 of the 977 private homes sold in February were from previously launched projects indicated “a more broad-based improvement in demand”, said Mr Ong.

Last week, the Singapore Government announced a partial easing of property cooling measures, with adjustments made to the seller’s stamp duties (SSD) and the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR).

Home owners now have to wait three years instead of four before selling their properties to avoid paying the SSD.

The new rules apply to residential properties bought on or after March 11.

The SSD rate was reduced by four percentage points for each tier.

The TDSR has been eased with the 60 per cent TDSR threshold no longer applicable to mortgage equity withdrawal loans with loan-to-value ratios of 50 per cent and below.

These are loans taken by borrowers against their properties.

The tweaks are unlikely to have a major impact, as changes in the SSD were targeted predominantly on taxes on disposal, said Mr Sim.

“Taxes surrounding acquisition have not changed and will continue to remain a barrier, filtering out owner occupiers from the speculators/investors,” he added.

Nevertheless, JLL’s Mr Ong said, the recent easing of the SDD and the TDSR would be a “favourable enhancement on a market that is already on a buying uptrend.”