Sales of luxury apartments in Singapore are still dropping with a total of 136 caveats lodged last year, 44 percent down from the 243 caveats in 2013, revealed CBRE.
The property consultancy tracked deals of above $5 million in the Core Central Region (CCR) as an indicator of luxury transactions.
Prices also faced downward pressure with the average price of resale luxury apartments falling 6.2 percent to $2,650 psf from $2,825 psf in the previous year.
For new high-end projects, the average price was lower at $2,450 psf. Transactions in the primary market was dominated by the sale of 51 units at Goodwood Residence as its developer GuocoLand looks to beat the June 2015 deadline when it has to pay a premium to extend the sales period.
In 2014, seven luxury projects comprising 467 units were completed, including Ardmore 3, Hana, Le Nouvel Ardmore, Nouvel 18, Sculptura Ardmore, Tomlinson Heights and TwentyOne Angullia Park.
With challenging times seen in the luxury market, developers are likely to adopt innovative sales schemes than cut prices to market new homes in 2015, CBRE said.
Meanwhile, Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS) President Augustine Tan recently called on the government to ease the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) on the high-end residential market.
“Not many Singaporeans are buying into this segment, and prices have indeed come down substantially. The imposition of ABSD on this segment runs counter to the Government’s efforts to encourage foreign investment flows into the country, to activate the economy, grow investments and create jobs for Singaporeans,” he stated during his speech at the association’s Lunar New Year celebration lunch held last Friday.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
