Sales of new private homes sank to only 230 units in December 2014, corresponding to an 11 percent decline from the year before, according to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Month-on-month, sales by developers fell almost 46 percent from the 423 units moved in November 2014.
Only 53 private units were launched last month contributing to the poor sales.
Property analysts had expected a fairly quiet December with a slowdown in launches due to the year-end festive and holiday period.
According to URA, prices as well as the number of units sold during the month are based on the Option to Purchase (OTP) issued by developers to buyers and reported to URA. Not all OTPs result in confirmed sales.
An OTP is a right or option given by the vendor to an intending purchaser to buy the property at a specified price within a specified period of time – the validity period of the option. The intending purchaser must pay a booking fee of between 5 – 10 percent of the agreed price for this right or option. The purchaser has to exercise the OTP within its validity period if he decides to buy the property.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
