SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Developers sold 767 private new homes in November, according to the latest statistics by URA. The figure excludes executive condominiums and is 18.9% higher m-o-m, but 34.2% lower y-o-y.
The m-o-m increase could be the result of a higher number of units launched. The 1,375 units launched for sale in November is trebled the 423 units in October. Year to date, 8,791 private new homes were sold in the first 11 months, 8.1% lower than the 9,566 units sold in the corresponding period of 2019.
The Linq at Beauty World and The Landmark led sales in November. The Linq @ Beauty World sold 118 units out of 120 units at a median price of $2,171 psf while The Landmark sold 109 units at a median price of $2,135 psf. The two projects contributed to 30% of November’s sales, says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex, noting the strong correlation between transaction volume and new project launches during the month.
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“Freehold mixed development The Linq @ Beauty World was practically sold out during its launch, while The Landmark — which is on the fringe of the central business district — transacted 27.5% of its total units over its launch weekend,” adds Gafoor.
The Linq moved the most number of units in November, selling 118 out of 120 units (Photo: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore)
"The strong demand for The Linq @ Beauty World is due to several factors, including its rare freehold tenure, proximity to the Beauty World MRT Station as well as its location in the Beauty World area, which has been earmarked for rejuvenation," notes Ong Teck Hui, senior director of research & consultancy at JLL.
Units at the RCR accounted for the majority, or 58.3%, of the total new home sales (excluding ECs), notes Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie. About 31% of sales were in the OCR while 11% were in the CCR.
Sun also observes that buyers’ appetite for pricier homes has remained strong. The number of new homes sold above $2,000 psf rose to a nine-month high of 393 units in November, from 52 units in March. Such buyers are “largely not affected by the new curbs on re-issue of OTPs”, she adds.
Collier’s Song agrees, noting that there is sustained momentum in the high-end segment. Leedon Green sold 18 units at a median price of $2,603 psf, double of the nine units sold in October. The Avenir moved another six units at a median price of $3,201 psf, also double of the three units sold in October. “The priciest unit on a per square foot price came from three units at Boulevard 88 at prices between $3,683 psf and $3,754 psf,” she says.
Song also observes that the median price for 455-unit Riviere, one of the top selling luxury projects, has dropped from $2,932 psf in May to $2,541 psf in November. As a result, 16 units moved at the District 9 property and it is now about 18% sold.
On Sept 28, URA imposed new conditions in the sale licences issued to housing developers in order to encourage financial discipline when making property purchase decisions. Developers may not re-issue the option to purchase (OTP) for the same unit within 12 months after the expiry of the earlier OTP. This means the buyer must purchase the unit within the three-week option period when the buyer is granted the rights to buy the property.
OrangeTee & Tie’s Sun notes the clampdown caused a knee-jerk reaction in October, which saw only 642 new private residential homes (excluding ECs) sold. This was also 51.7% lower than the 1,329 units sold in September.
Based on the sales figure in November, Sun observes that there are genuine and affluent homebuyers who are not affected by the new regulations.
On the other hand, JLL's Ong says that the impact of the regulation change is still significant, judging from the fact that new private home sales is a 42.3% decline from September.
Looking ahead to December, Huttons' Lee foresees strong sales of around 900 to 950 units. “We revise our forecast for 2020 slightly upwards to 9,600 to 9,700 units on the back of superb results from Clavon and Ki Residences at Brookvale. This is only slightly lower than 2019's 9,912 units,” he adds.
Gafoor also agrees that the number of units sold will exceed 9,700 units for 2020. On the other hand, Sun estimates that around 650 to 750 units could be sold in December and the total number of units sold for the year to hit between 9,400 and 9,600 units.
In January, the market is gearing up for three launches: Normanton Park, Parc Central Residences and The Reef at King’s Dock. Sun estimates that 20 new developments could be launched in 1H2021, which is fewer than the 25 and 35 residential project launches in 1H2020 and 1H2019 respectively.
Top 10 private residential projects for November 2020
Source: URA, Huttons Research
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