Crowds at the Treasure Crest showflat during the EC project’s launch. (Photo: Sim Lian Group)
Sales of new private homes, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), fell 56 percent to 473 units in August from the 1,091 units sold in the previous month, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) data.
Analysts attributed the slump in transactions to the lack of any major new launches due to the
Hungry Ghost Festival, which is traditionally a quiet period for the property market.
Year-on-year, developer sales were down about seven percent, compared with the 513 units sold in August 2015.
According to PropNex Realty, the bulk of sales last month were in the suburbs, where 285 units were sold, which translates to 61 percent of total sales. The city fringe sold 139 units, followed by the city centre with 49 units sold.
Including ECs, a private-public housing hybrid, the total figure rose to 805 units sold, down from 1,921 in July.
In fact, the three best-selling projects in the month were ECs. Treasure Crest in Sengkang sold 56 units at a median price of $745 psf, followed by Sol Acres in Choa Chu Kang with 46 units sold ($781 psf) and Bellewoods in Woodlands with 37 units sold ($769 psf).
The most popular private condo was Lake Grande in Jurong, which moved 35 units at a median price of $1,317 psf.
Looking ahead, PropNex CEO Mohamed Ismail expects home buyers to remain cautious amid the softer market conditions.
“We expect new private home sales volume to be about 700 units per month, or exceeding 8,000 units for 2016. Transaction volume will continue to be launch-driven; largely dependent on the price and location of the project,” he said.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
