Builders sold 432 private new houses in February, a 9.9% increase month-over-month

Developers offered 432 brand new houses, excluding executive condos (ECs) during February 20, 2023 as per URA figures that was released on 15 March. The figure is 9.9% higher than the 393 units sold in the prior month.

Marina View Residences showroom is earmarked for residential and hotel use. The 0.78 ha or 84,000 sq ft site enjoys a maximum GFA of 1.09 million sq. ft.

But it’s 20.3% down from February 2022’s numbers which was 28% less than the previous five-year average of sales recorded in February. “This could be because buyers are waiting to make a decision on the next projects that will be launched in the next few months, and other buyers may have waited to observe the market” says Chia Siew Chuin, the head of research and research for residential properties and consulting at JLL.

However, it is another month of growth, after the 130% growth in the m-o – m market in January. “The sales growth is very positive, especially considering that only one small and mid-sized project were announced however, buyers are facing problems like high interest rates as well as cool measures” adds Christine Sun the OrangeTee & Tie’s executive vice president of research and analytics.

Developers have released new homes in February, which was on similar to the 410 units launched in January. The latest launches in February included Terra Hill, the 270-unit freehold property developed created by Hoi Hup and Sunway Developments on Yew Siang Road as well as Gems Ville, which is a boutique development with 24 units of freehold located along Lorong 13 Geylang. The other homes sold were part of ongoing projects. “More homes were removed at Pullman Newton Residences, Jervois Prive as well as Leedon Green,” says JLL’s Chia.

In a report on February’s sales numbers, Lee Sze Teck, researcher for Huttons Asia, notes that the rise of buyers’ Stamp Duty (BSD) that was announced on February 14 as part of the Budget announcement did not appear to have stopped buyers from buying the property. Terra Hill, which launched shortly after the Budget was made public, was the most-sold project of the month with 97 units being sold at the median price of $2,699 per square foot. It is located within the Rest of Central Region (RCR) The project was responsible for contributing approximately 22% of the month’s total new private homes sold.

However, the majority (51.4%) of February developer sales was due to Core Central Region (CCR) projects. “A complete of 222 residential properties were offered within CCR primary markets. CCR principal market. That’s which is more than twice the 107 units that were released in the CCR in the month prior,” observes Marcus Chu the chief executive officer of ERA Realty Network. Also, it marks an increase of 40.5% m-o-m increase in CCR new homes sold.

Tricia Song, the CBRE’s director of research Southeast Asia, adds that seven of the top ten performing projects of February were freehold developments within the CCR. The list is the case for Pullman Residences Newton which sold 38 units for an average price of $3,171 per square foot and Leedon Green, which sold 21 units for the median price of $2,943 per square foot. “This indicates that buyers are still seeing potential in CCR in spite of the decreasing cost gap that exists in between RCR as well as CCR New launches” the agent says.

CCR homes for sale may also be supported by investors investing their money into freehold properties for protection of their wealth in the face of increased risk, Song adds.

The number of homes that foreigners bought was steady in the month of January, with 54 homes being purchased by non-permanent residents as compared with 53 in the month of January. This is the largest monthly sale to foreigners from June to date, according to OrangeTee and Tie’s Sun. “Most foreign buyers bought luxurious homes in the month of June and bought 35 new condos located in the CCR,” she says.

In the future Looking ahead, CBRE’s Song estimates that sales numbers in March will be boosted with the Botany located at Dairy Farm, Sim Lian Group’s 386-unit development located at Dairy Farm Walk. The project has more than 48% of units were picked up by the 99-year leasehold development on its opening weekend, with an average of $2,070 per sq ft.

Furthermore, additional developments scheduled for the coming months are expected to boost the pace of new home sales over the next few months. In the coming two months include the EL Development’s Blossoms at The Park located at Slim Barracks Rise; Tembusu Grand located at Jalan Tembusu by City Developments and MCL Land; Hoi Hup and Sunway Developments’ The Continuum located at Thiam Siew Avenue; and The Reserve Residences at Jalan Anak Bukit through the joint venture of Far East Organization and Sino Group.

Leonard Tay, Knight Frank Singapore’s head for research, believes that the latest launches will spur more potential buyers to take action. In pointing out the fact that The Botany at Dairy Farm and Terra Hill each have set new benchmarks for prices in their respective neighborhoods Tay sees this as an indication that buyers are willing to spend money on new homes despite current negative outlook.

In this respect the consultant has kept his full-year forecast of new home sales of 78,000 to 8,000 in 2023. Other consultants have kept their full-year forecasts unaltered that range from 77,000 to 9,000 units.