Developers moved 1,178 new private homes, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), in July, up 43.5 percent from the 821 units sold in June.
On an annual basis, the figure was 31.7 percent lower compared to the 1,724 units transacted in July 2018, when panic buyers rushed to snap units before the new cooling measures took effect.
Including ECs, developers sold 1,556 units in July, reflecting a whopping 89.3 percent month-on-month hike in new home sales.
OrangeTee attributed the stellar sales mainly to “more buyers returning to the market after the June holidays and more developers fast-tracking their project launches ahead of the lunar seventh month”.
Notably, 1,731 new units, including ECs, were released by developers last month. New launches include this year’s only EC project – Piermont Grand – and projects such as One Pearl Bank, Haus on Handy, View at Kismis, Jervois Treasures and Dunearn 386.
Piermont Grand EC sold 378 units or 46 percent of its total 820 units.
“The healthy response can be attributable to the pent-up demand in the EC market, strong location attributes and the reputation of the developer. In addition, deferred payments were offered as an added incentive to attract buyers,” said Desmond Sim, head of research for Southeast Asia at CBRE.
Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at Colliers International, however, said that sales for the project was a tad slower than expected.
“This could be due to its record price point — its median price of $1,107 per sq ft was an all-time high for newly launched ECs in Singapore,” she said.
Over at the non-EC market front, One Pearl Bank emerged as the best-selling project, with 197 units sold, followed by two previously launched projects Treasure at Tampines (119 units) and The Florence Residences (112 units).
Meanwhile, foreign buyers have also been streaming back to the market in July, said OrangeTee.
“According to URA Realis data downloaded today, 82 units or 7.1 percent of all non-landed new home sales were snapped up by foreigners (non-permanent residents (NPR) last month, higher than the one-year average of 39 units,” it said.
Foreign buyers also purchased pricier homes this year.
In fact, 84 or 27 percent of the 311 non-landed new private homes acquired by foreigners in the first seven months of 2019 were priced above $3 million – the highest percentage since 2007.
“The growing global economic uncertainties may see more investors parking their funds here as Singapore’s property market is known to be a safe and stable haven for capital preservation and appreciation,” added OrangeTee.
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Fiona Ho, Digital Content Manager at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories, email fiona@propertyguru.com.sg
