Developer sales plunge 47% m-o-m in Feb amid absence of new launches

The absence of major non-landed launches, combined with the Lunar New Year holiday, likely contributed to lower sales recorded last month, says Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Sales of new private homes (excluding Executive Condos) fell 47% m-o-m in February amid the absence of any new launches, according to URA data released on March 15.

The plunge in new private home sales (excluding ECs) last month also marks a 65.5% y-o-y decline. As a result, developers only sold 149 new units last month, compared to 281 units in January.

However, the total developer sales volume last month increased to 183 units sold after 34 EC units were included in the sales tally. However, including ECs, new home sales still dipped 68.9% m-o-m compared to 588 units sold in January.

Only 45 new residential units were launched for sale in February. The number of units launched by developers last month is 89.2% lower on a monthly basis and 88.8% compared to the same period last year. This is the lowest number of units launched since December last year when developers only released 36 units for sale, says Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI.

Projects that released units for sale last month included The Myst on Upper Bukit Timah Road, 19 Nassim at Nassim Hill, and Watten House on Shelford Road. The most expensive unit sold was a 3,035 sq ft five-bedroom unit on the fifth floor of freehold Terra Hill on Yew Siang Road. The unit changed hands with a foreigner for $8.05 million ($2,652 psf).

Best-selling projects

Due to the absence of new project launches, February developer sales came from already-launched projects. Topping the list of projects with the most number of sales (excluding ECs) was The Botany at Dairy Farm. The 386-unit condo along Dairy Farm Walk sold a total of 15 units at a median price of $2,018 psf.

This was followed by the 275-unit Blossons by the Park at Slim Barracks Rise, the 1,008-unit Grand Dunman on Dunman Road and the 520-unit Pinetree Hill on Pine Grove, which sold 10 units each.

Lumina Grand led the list of top-selling ECs for the second consecutive month, selling a total of 16 units in February at a median unit price of $1,497 psf. “Lumina Grand initiated its second round of balloting for second-time buyers on March 2. Hence, we may see a continued interest in the development in March as well,” notes Sandrasegeran.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, describes the sales momentum in the EC market as “steady” given the relatively attractive entry price compared to the condo market. Huttons estimates that about 466 EC units remain unsold as of end-February.

In total, only three, or 2% of February homebuyers were foreigners. This marks the lowest number of foreign buyers since the 60% additional buyer’s stamp duty hike in April last year, says Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Singapore. Besides the Terra Hill transaction, other foreign buyers purchased a 1,087 sq ft unit at Enchanté on Evelyn Road for $3.03 million ($2,784 psf) and a 1,464 sq ft unit at Pasir Ris 8 for $2.57 million ($1,754 psf).

Outlook

More robust sales are expected in March due to the launch of the 533-unit Lentor Mansion and the 267-unit Lentoria in the Lentor Hills estate. OrangeTee’s Sun also anticipates that the relaunch of the 192-unit luxury condo Cuscaden Reserve on Cuscaden Road will boost March home sales.

As a result, Huttons’ Lee expects private new home sales to rebound from its performance last month, to achieve between 400 to 600 units sold in March.

There are about five launch-ready projects lined up in April and May They include the 107-unit Arina East Residences in Tanjong Rhu, the 276-unit Kassia in Flora Drive, the 440-unit SORA in the Jurong Lake District, the 142-unit The Hill @one-north and the 59-unit The Hillshore along Pasir Panjang Road.

Generally, home buyers remain price-conscious and very selective since they have ample choices, notes Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty. She adds: “It is possible that some prospective buyers are patiently taking a watch-and-wait approach, with a view to entering the market perhaps in 2Q2024 or closer to the second half of the year, as they track the property market’s performance and potentially hold out for any interest rate cuts, which may transpire later in the year”.

“Barring unforeseen circumstances, developers may sell up to 7,000 new homes while prices are expected to be stable, increasing up to 5% in 2024,” Lee says.