The best-selling project in July was Pasir Ris 8, selling 418 units out of a total 487 units (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/ The Edge Singapore)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Singapore’s new home sales rebounded strongly in July, with developers selling 1,589 private homes excluding executive condominiums (ECs) in the month, an increase of 82.2% from the 872 units transacted in June. (See also: Success of Pasir Ris 8 spurs repricing at other developers’ projects)
Including ECs, new home sales increased by 81.3% m-o-m to 1,744 units in July, from 962 units transacted in the month prior. Compared to a year ago, new sales excluding ECs rose by 46.7%, according to data from the URA.
Singapore underwent a tightening of Covid-19 restrictions from July 22 to Aug 10, where house viewings and visitor capacities at sales galleries were scaled down. However, this did not dampen market sentiment. July’s sales number is the highest in the year-to-date, following the performance in January when 1,633 units were sold.
New home sales in July were propped up by demand for units at Pasir Ris 8, Normanton Park, Midwood, Sengkang Grand Residences, Ki Residences at Brookvale, Parc Clematis, and Treasure at Tampines.
Excluding ECs, homes in the Outside Central Region (OCR) formed the bulk of home purchases, at 63.7%. This is followed by the Rest of Central Region (RCR), at 27.6% of total sales while the Core Central Region (CCR) contributed 8.7%.
The bulk of sales were from transactions at Pasir Ris 8 in the OCR, which moved 418 units out of total 487 units at a median price of $1,624 psf during July, its first month of launch. Due to strong demand for its units, the developer raised prices repeatedly on its launch day. (See: Browse newly launched condos in Singapore right now)
However, despite the price hikes, consultants still attribute the project’s “affordable price quantum” to its healthy sales response. Almost 70% of the 418 units sold in this development were priced below $1.5 million, at a median price of $1,624 psf for the units sold in July, notes Wong Xian Yang, head of research, Singapore, at Cushman & Wakefield.
Sengkang Grand Residences, an integrated development launched in November 2019, also booked healthy sales with 541 out of 680 units sold as of July 2021, transacted at a median price of $1,723 psf, Wong notes.
“The favourable response to the Pasir Ris 8 launch and news of multiple price revisions up to $2,000 psf created a spill-over effect to other projects in the OCR. In July, a number of OCR projects managed to move more units compared to previous months in the year,” says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty.
Meanwhile the bulk of sales in the RCR was driven by sales at Normanton Park, which sold 125 units, marking its strongest monthly sales since its launch in January this year, observes PropNex. Compared to June, the RCR saw 33% more sales.
In the CCR, 139 new homes were sold in July, which is 32.5% lower than the previous month. Leedon Green was the best-selling CCR project in July, with 33 units transacted, at a median price of $2,559psf.
“Sales picked up across many projects last month as buyers returned to the private residential market in droves. Some rushed to buy units for fear of being priced out of the market. Overall prices seem to have bottomed out and some projects have raised prices for their balance units,” comments Christine Sun, senior vice president of research & analytics at OrangeTee & Tie.
In the EC market, developers sold 155 new units in July despite a lack of new EC launches — up by 72% from the 90 new EC units transacted in June. Parc Central Residences was the best-selling EC project, transacting 52 units at a median price of $1,168psf.
In July, developers launched a total of 1,104 private non-landed homes (excluding ECs) for sale, up 35% from 815 units in June, and an increase of 27% y-o-y.
The majority of the new launches came from projects such as Pasir Ris 8 (487 units) and previously launched projects like Midwood (164 units), Sengkang Grand Residences (100 units) and Forett At Bukit Timah (100 units). Altogether, these accounted for 77% of the total homes launched, says Wong.
In July, there has also been an increase in the sales of pricier mass-market condominiums. Single non-landed private home transactions of at least $1.5million in the OCR rose to a new high, registering 397 transactions in July and beating the previous record in December 2020 when 293 units were sold. Of the 397 transactions, 141 were sold for at least $2 million, observes Sun. (See: Discover insightful data of any Singapore condominium with our condo directory)
“The stellar sales indicate that more buyers were willing to pay a premium for mass-market condominiums that are well-located or possess good product attributes. In terms of psf prices, 829 non-landed homes in OCR were sold for more than S$1,500 psf while nine units were transacted above S$2,000 psf in July,” she explains.
(Source: PropNex, URA)
Homes in the city fringe also transacted at higher prices last month. In the RCR, 195 non-landed homes were sold above $2,000 psf. Of this number, 45 units were sold for at least $2,500 psf across different projects like Amber Park, One Pearl Bank, Riviere, One Meyer, Meyer Mansion, Nyon and Sky Everton, notes Sun.
Unsold supply to dwindle further in 2021
Looking ahead, consultants expect new home sales for the whole year to reach 11,000 to 12,000.
“Total new sales could potentially be higher if not for dwindling unsold inventory and higher alert restrictions which has led to a delay in some launches,” remarks Wong.
Unsold supply has dropped for nine consecutive quarters to reach 19,409 units as at 2Q2021 – a record low since 4Q2017 when 20,814 units were unsold, she adds. Given continued healthy primary market sales volumes and low levels of addition to stock, unsold inventory is expected to further decline, approaching the historical low of 16,929 units in 2Q2017, based on data since 3Q2006.
Consultants foresee that developers will seek new land, and anticipate more active bidding at land auctions, collective sales and government land sales programmes.
However, “market optimism and the declining home supply may drive home prices higher in the second half of this year”, cautions Sun.
Check out the latest listings near Pasir Ris 8, Normanton Park, Midwood, Sengkang Grand Residences, Ki Residences at Brookvale, Parc Clematis, Treasure at Tampines, Amber Park, One Pearl Bank, Riviere, One Meyer, Meyer Mansion, Nyon and Sky Everton