January recorded plenty of new private home sales but an industry body has warned that market sentiment may be duller.
Wong Heang Fine (pictured), President of the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS), said the strong number of private homes sold in January must be viewed in perspective, as they do not mean that every project is doing well.
“January’s figures are generated by the new launches of two or three projects, so the numbers themselves do not really reflect the entire state of the market. You have to look at the numbers a little more in detail,” he said.
“Generally, in terms of new launches, they have been getting very good response. And of course for these two or three projects, the product is also very good.”
Wong added that sales from specific projects and locations should be studied to get a clearer picture.
According to recent reports, three projects launched in January, which include The Hillier in Upper Bukit Timah, Parc Rosewood in Woodlands and Watertown in Punggol, sold a total of 1,360 units. This was in contrast to the 632 units sold in December across the entire market.
While the strong interest in recent property launches shows that there is liquidity in the market, Wong said that foreign acquisitions, particularly in the luxury sector, are well down. He also highlighted that the large supply of new factory and office space in the pipeline will affect rents and vacancy rates.
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