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Strong demand for ECs sees private home sales double in July

SINGAPORE – Sales of private housing units in July – including executive condominiums (EC) – nearly doubled from the month before to 2,086 from 1,064 units, with strong demand for a rash of newly-launched projects.

Private home sales hit 1,108 units, a 35 per cent rise from the month before which saw 820 units being sold. TODAY File Photo

Private home sales hit 1,108 units, a 35 per cent rise from the month before which saw 820 units being sold. TODAY File Photo

SINGAPORE – Sales of private housing units in July – including executive condominiums (EC) – nearly doubled from the month before to 2,086 from 1,064 units, with strong demand for a rash of newly-launched projects.

Sales of ECs, a hybrid of public and private housing, were particularly robust – with 978 units sold last month, a four-fold increase from the 244 units sold in June. Meanwhile, private home sales hit 1,108 units, a 35 per cent rise from the month before which saw 820 units being sold.

In total, 1,223 units including ECs were launched in July, as compared to just 159 new launches overall in June. Of the new launches, 692 were private homes.

Mr Donald Han, managing director of Hospitality Strategies Asia Pacific, a real estate consultancy, said: “The strong July numbers were helped by the aggressive EC take-up, where almost half out of the 2,086 units were contributed by the EC segment.”

“Out of the EC transacted units, more than half came from the Hundred Palms sell-out project alone. July’s strong numbers is a further testament to a recovering residential market, where we will first see a recovery in transaction volumes before any re-rating in prices.”

The Hundred Palm Residences, an EC in Yio Chu Kang, sold all 531 units that were launched in July. Other previously unsold EC units were also snapped up, such as Parc Life in Sembawang Crescent, which sold 63 units, and the Visionaire in Canberra Drive, which moved 65 units.

Mr Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Realty Network, felt that the limited supply of ECs might have spurred demand.

“The limited supply of ECs might have prompted some buyers into action. As of July, there were only 1,218 unsold developer EC units, with the next EC launch only tentatively scheduled in the first quarter of next year. Hence, prospective EC buyers would have to move fast if they still want to buy an EC unit.”

For newly-launched private developments, Martin Modern in Martin Place sold 109 units of the 120 units it launched in July. The Symphony Suites in Yishun Close sold 73 units, while The Santorini in Tampines had sales of 82 units.

In the first seven months of this year, developers have sold 7,147 private residential units and 3,004 ECs – an increase of 50 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively, from the same period in 2016.

Property analysts said that buyers were looking to buy now before the expected market recovery next year.

Mr Lim of ERA, said: “Buyers are anticipating the market recovery to happen in 2018, and choosing to make their purchases now in hopes of catching the market on its upswing.”

“Also, with recent land prices trending upwards, many buyers are deciding to commit to a purchase now rather than later; as prices for these projects from recent land sales are likely to be priced higher when they are launched next year,” he added.

Developers, in noting this demand, are starting to launch their units in phases, Mr Lim noted. Some examples are Park Place Residences at PLQ, Martin Modern and Le Quest.

Mr Lim said that he expects that total developer sales for this year will be between 10,000 to 12,000 units, and for ECs, between 3,500 to 4,000 units.

CLARIFICATION: In an earlier version of this report, we stated that Martin Modern in Martin Place sold 109 units of the 210 units it launched in July. GuocoLand has clarified that 120 units were launched in July. 

 

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