Suburban projects saw unit sales and launches drop to their lowest levels in 2H2013 since the 2008 global financial crisis, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle.
Mass market private homes also saw take-up rates plunge to its lowest level since 1H2008 between July to December last year.
This decline could be due to the introduction of the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) in June 2013.
"In general, the sales progress of most projects launched after June 2013 tend to be slow," said Ong Teck Hui, Research Director at Jones Lang LaSalle Singapore.
"Before TDSR was imposed in June 2013, projects that were priced realistically had no problems in achieving a substantial take-up within a reasonable time frame."
He noted that projects which were "more optimistically" priced by developers would find it hard to move units unless prices were reduced to make them more attractive for buyers.
He also revealed that developers shied away from launching new projects in 2H2013 because of poor market sentiment.
As such, only 2,796 suburban private homes were launched during the period. This was down over 50 percent from the 6,309 units launched in 1H2013.
Meanwhile, new home sales in the outskirts fell at an even steeper pace, falling 64 percent to 2,228 units in 2H2013 from 6,143 units previously.
This works out to a take-up rate of 80 percent; the lowest since the 65 percent take-up rate recorded in 1H2008.
Ong attributed the lukewarm response seen at some suburban launches to pricing issues, saying that prices "were probably set too close to pre-TDSR levels, whereas demand has moderated significantly".
Christopher Chitty, Senior Content Producer at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email christopher@propertyguru.com.sg
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