July’s developer sales stayed flat month-on-month and year-on-year (y-o-y) at 484 units, which brought year-to-July sales to 4,893 units, down 53 percent y-o-y from 10,432 units in 7M 2013, according to a recent report by Barclays Bank, Singapore.
Two out of the four new launches, City Gate and The Citron Residences, sold over 10 percent of total units available as buyers at new launches remained price-sensitive
Additionally, sales at the projects launched in June, The Crest and Trilive, slowed further, bringing total sales to eight percent and 10 percent of their total available units, respectively.
Sales in the Core Central Region (CCR) region jumped 91 percent with 88 units sold, compared to 46 units in June.
To move units, some high-end developments cut prices. For example, after cutting prices by 12 percent from $2,400 psf to $2,113psf, The Vermont on Cairnhill (pictured) was able to sell its remaining 37 units.
Hallmark Residences sold three units in July and sold 63 percent of its 75 units after slashing prices by 14 to 20 percent from its initial launch price of $2,200 psf in June 2013.
Developer sales in the past seven months were mainly in the $1,001 to 1,500 psf range, and Barclays expects July’s weak trend to continue beyond August.
“We expect a full-year take-up of 9,000 units for 2014, -40 percent y-o-y from 14,948 units in 2013,” it said.
“We see an oversupply of private housing properties and we expect prices to fall 20 percent by 2015, in view of market expectations for interest rates to rise, coinciding with peak supply and our assumption that the vacancy rate could reach a record 10 percent by 2016.”
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
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