The wife and I have given you the scoop fresh from the 9.30pm news last night. Here is the full story as published in the BT today:
Developers’ sales of private homes surged 82% month on month to 1,544 units in July from the low of 847 units in June, according to the latest official figures. This reflects a resumption in home buying, which had taken a breather during the school holidays and World Cup.
However, sales are expected to slip to around 800 – 1,000 units again in August, on the back of slower launches during the Hungry Ghost Months, say some property agents. After this ends on September 7, both launches and sales will pick up again, they reckon.
In the first seven months of this year, developers have sold 9,957 private homes (excluding executive condos), after last year’s strong sales of 14,688 units.
CB Richard Ellis expects the full-year figure will be about 14,000 units. Jones Lang LaSalle’s estimate is 13,000 – 14,000 while DTZ’s SE Asia Research head Chua Chor Hoon puts the number at 13,000 – 15,000 units.
“The outlook still remains positive against the backdrop of Singapore’s economic growth and the low interest rate environment but buyers will be more selective given that so many Government Land Sale sites are being sold; this will translate to greater choice of new projects.”
“Prices have also been on the rise, so potential buyers will be more discerning in picking properties that have better potential for rental income or capital appreciation,” Ms Chua added. DTZ’s data shows that secondary market prices of completed private homes appreciated about 6 – 8% in the first half of this year; her full-year forecast is an 8 – 13% increase.
CB Richard Ellis executive director (residential) Joseph Tan reckons that developers are unlikely to test new price benchmarks when they resume launches next month. But prices are unlikely to fall below current levels either, as land prices remain high, he adds.
On the other hand, signs of buyer price resistance continue to prevail. Colliers International’s analysis of official developer monthly sales data released by URA shows that the proportion of private homes sold by developers priced at $1,500psf and below was at its highest level in 10 months in July, at 88%.
The Outside Central Region, where mass-market properties are typically located, accounted for 42.8% of the total 1,544 units sold by developers in July, while the Core Central Region, where the most expensive homes in Singapore are found, had a 17.9% share. The most expensive apartment/condominium unit (in terms of $ psf) sold by a developer in July was a unit at Boulevard Vue which fetched $4,600psf. Far East sold the high-floor unit of 4,456sqft for $20.5 million.
URA’s data shows that other high-end deals last month included a unit at The Orchard Residences which sold at $4,099psf and another at Skyline @Orchard Boulevard at $3,719psf.
The least expensive non-landed home was a unit at The Minton in Hougang which was transacted at $612psf.
July’s surge in primary market sales came on the back of three major launches – 368 Thomson, Terrene at Bukit Timah and The Scala at Serangoon Avenue 3. Together, they made up 46.6% of the total 1,544 units developers sold in July.
The top-selling project was The Scala, with 400 units transacted at a median price of $1,173psf.
Also helping to boost last month’s sales were sell-out launches for three projects that comprised mostly one-bedders – the 51-unit Centra Suites at Lorong 25 Geylang, 99-unit Haig 162 and Leicester Suites (46 of the 47 units were sold last month).
Developers launched 1,335 private homes in July, up from 1,010 units in June.
Projects expected to be released after the Hungry Ghost Month includes NV Residences in Pasir Ris, Twin Peaks on the Grangeford site, Cityscape in Mergui Road and Killiney 18.
Two executive condo projects – the 573-unit Esparina Residences at Compassvale Bow in Sengkang and the Chinese developer MCC Land’s 406-unit The Canopy in Yishun – are slated for release in October, says market watchers.
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SG PropTalk 