The December sales were mainly driven by two key launches – namely, Clavon and Ki Residences. On an annual basis, new home sales soared 126.2% from the 538 units shifted in December 2019.
New home sales in Singapore rose by almost 60% month-on-month to 1,217 units in December, bringing the total figure for 2020 to 10,008 units, reported The Business Times (BT).
The increase in sales came even as Singapore registered its worst recession in 2020 as the global pandemic forced many countries into lockdowns.
Looking into the December caveats lodged with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Christine Sun, Director and Senior Vice-president of Research and Analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, described 2020 as an “amazing year”.
Notably, the December figure may change when URA unveils its sales data this Friday and when the Q4 Real Estate Statistics is released on 22 January due to adjustments for aborted sales, said BT.
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Sun said the final tally may be lower once the aborted sales are taken into account.
“Therefore, the total new homes (for 2020) could be on par with the 9,912 units sold in 2019 and above the 8,795 units sold in 2018,” she said as quoted by BT.
On an annual basis, new home sales soared 126.2% from the 538 units shifted in December 2019.
The December sales were mainly driven by two key launches – namely, Clavon and Ki Residences, which moved 473 and 172 units, respectively.
Other top-selling projects include Parc Clematis, Jadescape, Treasure at Tampines and Piermont Grand.
About 75.9% of the total sales were accounted for by the Outside of Central Region (OCR). The Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Core Central Region (CCR) made up 19.1% and 4.7%, respectively.
Desmond Sim, Head of Research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at CBRE, pointed to the low interest rate as a key driver of sales, which is also true in other parts of the world.
“Low interest rates in the UK and US also has led to healthy home sales,” he said as quoted by BT.
Meanwhile, buyers’ optimism has boosted home prices. URA flash estimate data showed that private home prices in Singapore climbed 2.1% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2020, or the highest quarterly increase since Q2 2018 when prices rose 3.4%.
For the whole of 2020, prices increased 2.2%
The private residential property index rose 2.7% in 2019, noted BT.
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Nicholas Mak, Head of Research & Consultancy at ERA Realty, believes the property price index may still increase since the prices of the transacted units during Q4 2020 were higher than in Q3 2020.
In Q4 2020, the median unit price stood at $1,734 per sq ft (psf), up 3.1% from Q3 2020, revealed Sun.
Huttons Asia Research Head Lee Sze Teck noted that developer sales during the first week of 2021 was brisk at 135 units, up 15% from the figure registered in the last week of December.
The OCR accounted for 55.6% of sales, while the RCR and CCR accounted for 30.4% and 14.1%, respectively, he said.
“Several high-end luxury projects saw foreigners picking up units in the last week, probably an early indication that foreigners’ interest may be returning,” he added as quoted by BT.
Among the foreigners purchasing new homes are business travelers and permanent residents, said Sun.
“We are seeing more buyers visiting show-flats. There are some buyers who are eager to acquire their target units and willing to pay higher prices if necessary. They may believe that the worst of the pandemic is behind us,” said Mak as quoted by BT.
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