Developer sales for September remained in reverse gear as number of private homes sold plunged 34% m-o-m from 513 in August to 341 in September 2015. The decline is attributed to a lack of new launches. Number of new units launched fell from 598 in August to 391 in September, all of which came from existing projects.
The fall in sales is attributable to the General Election, the Chinese 7th month- which ended on 12 September, and Hari Raya Haji, says Lee Nai Jia, DTZ regional head of research. The second week of September coincided with the school holidays where prospective buyers could be away.
CBRE head of research Desmond Sim notes: “Developers are now particularly sensitive to any events that might impact sales and therefore held off putting any projects on the market during the election period. The market continues to be supported by a steady level of underlying demand.”
High Park Residences remained the best-selling project with 46 units sold at a median price of $941 psf in August, followed by Botanique at Bartley, which launched 200 new units and sold 38 units at a median price of $1,293 psf.
In the EC segment, developers sold 288 units in September, down from 466 in the previous month. Signature at Yishun was the only new EC project launched in the month. The project topped the chart with 93 out of 525 units sold at a median price of $768 psf. Sol Acres, the best-selling EC project for August, dropped to the second spot with 38 units sold at a median price of $772 psf.
September home sales of 341 units brought the total home sales to 2,509 for the third quarter of 2015, adds CBRE’s Sim.
Top five selling private projects in September
Top five selling ECs in September
Figure 1a: Residential units launched by developers
Figure 1b: Residential units sold by developers