New private home sales up 51% in Sept

Romesh Navaratnarajah16 Oct 2018

Crowd at JadeScape booking day crop

Buyers waiting for their numbers to be called during the balloting process at JadeScape’s showflat. (Photo: Qingjian Realty)

Private home sales in Singapore rose 51 percent in September as developers launched new projects following the Hungry Ghost month and as buyers recover from the impact of recent curbs.

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data released on Monday (15 Oct) shows that developers moved 932 units last month, up from 617 units in August.

On an annual basis, private homes sales jumped 42 percent from 657 units over the same period last year.

Including ECs, developers sold 944 units, up 47.5 percent from the 640 units transacted in August and 4.2 percent higher than last year’s 906 units.

JadeScape on the former site of Shunfu Ville emerged as the best-selling project last month, with 327 units transacted at a median price of $1,669 psf, reported the Business Times.

More: This Is What A $6 Million Condo Showflat Looks Like

Mayfair Gardens by Oxley Holdings moved 82 units at a median price of $1,945 psf, while Tripartite Developers’ The Jovell sold 41 units at a median price of 1,259 psf.

Freehold development Jui Residences by Selangor Dredging Berhad sold 31 units at a median price of $1,704 psf last month.

Describing the sales figures as “quite encouraging”, Christine Li, senior director and head of research at Cushman & Wakefield, revealed that this year’s September sales result is the “highest September new home sales since 2013”.

But while market confidence appears to have improved, developers “are still grappling in setting an appropriate price level to attract buyers”, said JLL national director of research and consultancy Ong Teck Hui, while noting that seven new private residential projects were launched last month.

Looking ahead, ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim expects developers to sell 9,000 to 10,000 private homes this year, down from last year’s 10,566 units.

“With a wide selection of new projects coming up, buying demand is not expected to increase significantly as buyers evaluate their housing needs, options and finances,” said Lim.

“We have not observed significant price discounts yet. Developers who have bought land at high prices would need to sell even higher in order to remain profitable. This provides support for property prices in the short term, barring any external shocks.”

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Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg

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