Median
prices of 99- year non- landed homes sold in the third quarter of
this year have
increased
across the board – across new, resale and sub sale markets. CBRE’s
analysis of
caveats
lodged show a double- digit increase of 11.0 cent in median prices of
new homes, from
$825,000
($660 psf) in the second quarter to $916,000 ($769 psf) in the
current
quarter.
Prices of new freehold projects also saw the same upward trend, but
price swings were
skewed
by the launch of high- priced projects in the prime districts.
Joseph
Tan, Executive Director, Residential said “Prices of new projects
are always a function of
new
launches. We have seen the launch of some high quality projects with
good attributes such
as
those sited near MRT stations in the past three months.”
There
were key performers in the various segments of the market. In the
low- end segment,
which
catered mainly to HDB upgraders, 294 out of 297 units of Optimah @
Tanah Merah
were
sold, followed by 293 units (89.1%) of The Gale in Upper Changi and
461 units (78.1%)
of
Trevista in Toa Payoh. The average prices of these three 99- year
leasehold projects were
$830
psf, $720 psf and $943 psf respectively. In the mid- tier segment,
all 70 units of
Airstream
in St Michael’s Road and 75 out of 78 units of Luxus Hills were
sold. Airstream was
priced
at $1,085 psf on the average while the terrace houses of Luxus Hills
were priced at $1.6
million
– $1.9 million each. In the prime districts, 82 units (96.5%) of
Volari in Balmoral Road,
203
units (86.4%) of Viva in Thomson and 210 units (77.2%) of Sophia
Residence were sold.
Their
respective average prices were $2,059 psf, $1,537 psf and $1,590 psf.
For
resale leasehold properties, the median price in the third quarter
was $796,500 ($668
psf),
up 9.1% from the $730,000 ($593 psf) three months ago. Similarly, for
sub- sales, the
median
price at $992,500 ($1,032 psf) was 9.7 per cent higher than $905,000
($869 psf) in
the
previous quarter.
“These
observations point to home prices having bottomed out and are on the
road to
recovery,
barring any unforeseen circumstances,” Mr Tan added.
HDB
upgraders made up 51 per cent of new home buyers in the last eight
months of this year,
compared
to 44 per cent for the whole of last year. HDB upgraders have also
been active in
the
secondary market, making up 40 per cent of the buyers since the first
quarter of this year to
date,
up from the 33 per cent for the whole of last year. Interest from HDB
upgraders can be
attributed
to the resilience witnessed in the HDB resale market.
The
top five foreign nationalities in the new home market for this year
so far comprise
Malaysians,
Indonesians, Chinese, Indians and Britons.
Demand
for new homes may hit 5,200 units in the third quarter although the
Singapore
economy
is not out of the woods yet. This would make it the highest quarterly
volume
registered.
The next highest volume of 5,128 units sold was seen in the second
quarter of
2007.
In the nine months from January to September 2009, an estimated
12,450 units would
have
been sold, nearly three times the 4,264 new homes sold in 2008.
HDB
upgraders made up 51 per cent of new home buyers in the last eight
months of this year,
compared
to 44 per cent for the whole of last year. HDB upgraders have also
been active in
the
secondary market, making up 40 per cent of the buyers since the first
quarter of this year to
date,
up from the 33 per cent for the whole of last year. Interest from HDB
upgraders can be
attributed
to the resilience witnessed in the HDB resale market.
The
top five foreign nationalities in the new home market for this year
so far comprise
Malaysians,
Indonesians, Chinese, Indians and Britons.
Demand
for new homes may hit 5,200 units in the third quarter although the
Singapore
economy
is not out of the woods yet. This would make it the highest quarterly
volume
registered.
The next highest volume of 5,128 units sold was seen in the second
quarter of
2007.
In the nine months from January to September 2009, an estimated
12,450 units would
have
been sold, nearly three times the 4,264 new homes sold in 2008.
Market
confidence continued to strengthen as the stock market remained
stable in the quarter
and
government statistics showed a slight improvement in economic
fundamentals. The buying
spree
was partly motivated by the fear that home prices could never return
to current levels
again.
A third reason was the release of some long- awaited projects which
saw homebuyers
soaking
up most of the units within a few days of the launch.
The
brisk pace of home sales was mirrored in the resale and sub- sale
markets. Based on
caveats
lodged, we estimate that 2,800 – 3,000 resale homes and 700 – 750
sub- sales will be
sold
during the quarter. While these figures are lower than the 3,059
resale homes and 940
sub-
sales sold in the second quarter, they are much higher than the 1,144
resale homes and
412
sub- sales contracted in the first quarter.
Looking
to the fourth quarter, the residential sales momentum is likely to
moderate because of
the
latest government measures to stabilise the market and fewer large-
scale new launches.
Further
price increases will be checked because they had climbed
substantially in the last six
months
and some resistance can be expected. Nevertheless, new home sales for
the full- year
should
exceed 14,000 units with a possibility of surpassing the market peak
of 14,811 units in
2007.
New projects in the line- up include Elliot At The East Coast,
Parvis, Siglap V and
a
condominium in Yishun Avenue 1.