PropNex, Singapore’s largest property agency, has reported earnings of $19 million for 1HFY2024 ended June 30, 13.8% lower than the $22.1 million recorded a year ago. The lower earnings follow a decline in revenue for the period. The group registered 1HFY2024 revenue of $345.6 million, down 5.1% y-o-y.

The lower revenue was primarily driven by a decrease in commission income from project marketing services. Revenue from the segment declined 19.6% y-o-y to $91.3 million, which PropNex attributes to fewer new launches in the private residential market. Developers sold 1,889 new homes in 1H2024, down 44.2% from a year ago.

On the other hand, private resale transactions grew in the first half of the year. During that period, 6,491 private homes changed hands, 16% higher than in 1H2023. Resale HDB flat transactions during the period were also resilient, rising 6.9% y-o-y to 14,420 flats.

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The higher number of secondary market transactions boosted PropNex’s commission income from real estate agency services, which expanded 1.3% y-o-y to $251.9 million.

Ismail Gafoor, executive chairman and CEO of PropNex, notes that the private resale market accounted for 70.9% of overall private residential transactions in 1H2024. “We expect the resale market to drive private home sales this year and project that about 13,000 to 14,000 resale private homes could be transacted in the whole of 2024,” he adds.

PropNex has proposed an interim cash dividend of 2.25 cents a share for 1HFY2024.

Looking ahead, the group has adjusted its forecast for private new home sales for 2024 downwards, given the lower number of new launches and the continued impact of cooling measures rolled out last year.

It anticipates between 5,500 and 6,000 private new home sales this year, down from the 6,000 to 6,500 it previously forecasted. PropNex also predicts a 4% to 5% increase in overall private home prices in 2024, easing from the 6.8% price growth recorded in 2023.

The HDB resale market is expected to see resilient demand, with PropNex projecting resale volume to fall between 28,000 and 29,000 units this year, higher than the 26,735 flats sold in 2023.