Resale volumes of private condominiums in Singapore plunged to levels last seen during the Global Financial Crisis, reported the media.
Although sellers with strong holding power appeared unwilling to sell units at reduced prices, District 18 and District 27 managed to hold up well in resale volumes for Q2.
Resale volumes of private condominiums in District 18, which covers Pasir Ris and Tampines, inched up 5.6 percent in Q2 2014 to 57 transactions compared to year-ago period prior to the implementation of the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) on 29 June 2013.
Over at District 27, which comprises Sembawang and Yishun, resale volumes held flat at 18 transactions in Q2 compared the same period last year.
The resilience seen in these districts came amidst an islandwide drop in resale volumes.
In Q2, total resales of private condominiums stood at 1,314 units, or 31.9 percent of all private non-landed residential transactions. The figure is higher compared to the 29.9 percent registered in Q2 2013 but below the 40.9 percent posted in Q4 2012.
District 7, covering Golden Mile and Middle Road, and District 19 comprising Punggol, Hougang and Serangoon Garden posted the biggest decline in resale volumes. District 7 saw transactions drop from 12 units in Q2 2013 to two units in Q2 2014, while transactions in District 19 plunged from 164 to 57 units.
Notably, the comparisons of resale volumes before and after TDSR are based on caveats lodged, which generally represent around 80 percent of the market. Moreover, the illustration excludes new sales since they are primarily driven by new launches which may not have occurred in certain districts.
According to Nicholas Mak, SLP International’s Executive Director, most of the resales caveats were for family-sized units.
“The marketing activities of new projects in that district could have attracted buyers, who may have later decided to buy resale properties as they were cheaper in per square foot (psf) terms,” he said.
Overall, transactions for private condos including subsales, resales, and new sales plummeted 40.7 percent year-on-year in Q2 to 4,118, which is similar to the levels recorded during the Global Financial Crisis.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
