Developers sold 843 private homes in March, nearly thrice the 303 units sold in February. Sales volume was 38% higher y-o-y. Cairnhill Nine topped the sales chart with 177 units sold at a median price of $2,441 psf. The project received keen interest owing to its location in prime Orchard Road, link to Paragon mall and the fact that it’s a mixed-use development priced affordably. Almost 90% of the 268 residential units at Cairnhill Nine are one- and two-bedroom units. About half of the total units are also priced below $2 million.

The second best-selling project last month was The Wisteria in Yishun, where developer Northern Resi sold 125 of the 216 units launched at a median price of $1,112 psf. The project is also a mixed-use development with the residential blocks sitting on top of a two-storey retail mall, The Wisteria Mall.

In yet another mixed-use development, Poiz Residences, MCC Land moved an additional 59 units sold at S$1,475 psf median price. The project was first launched in November 2015. The project sits on top of a retail mall, which is linked to the adjacent Potong Pasir MRT station.

The rebound in the new home sales did not come as a surprise, says Christine Li, director and head of research at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W). She sees the strong sales supported by two factors, namely pent-up demand after a prolonged drought where developers sold an average of just 335 units in the months of December to February, half the 637 monthly average recorded in 2016. Secondly, the two top selling projects were well located and had good product mix.

Including executive condominiums (EC), developers sold 1,328 units in March. The best-selling EC was Wandervale in Choa Chu Kang where 292 units were sold, which translates to a take-up rate of $55%. The median price was $770 psf.

JLL expects the market to remain challenging due to the downside risks arising from the economic slowdown, substantial unsold supply and a weak leasing market. However, the sales pick-up for the new launches in March is “poignant enough to reflect an improvement in sentiments and demand,” says Ong Teck Hui, JLL national research director. “If this trend continues, it would result in improvements in both launches and sales take-up in 2Q16 and that may pave the way for further moderation in price declines in 2016, compared to the last two years.”