Private home sales doubled month-on-month (1,296 units in March 2021 versus 645 units in February 2021) and year-on-year (660 units in March 2020). Midtown Modern was the best-selling project in March.
Singapore saw sales of new private homes, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), double to 1,296 units in March from 645 units in February, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority data released on Thursday (15 April).
On an annual basis, developers’ sales soared 96.4% from the 660 units transacted in March 2020.
“This brings the developer sales in the first quarter of 2021 to 3,573 units, up 66.3% compared to the same period last year, and also the highest quarterly developer sales since Q2 2013’s 4,538 units, which triggered the eight round[s] of cooling measures,” said Tricia Song, Head of Research for Singapore at Colliers International.
In March, developers sold 77 ECs—a hybrid of public and private housing—down 30.6% from the 111 units transacted in February.
Including ECs, total developer sales increased 81.6% month-on-month and 51.9% year-on-year to 1,373 units.
Christine Sun, Senior Vice President of Research and Analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, noted that investors showed fresh interest in the luxury property segment as sales of new homes within the prime districts rebounded strongly last month.
In March, 546 luxury homes were shifted in the Core Central Region (CCR), up by nine times from the 58 units transacted in February.
The robust sales in the CCR were mainly driven by Midtown Modern’s launch. The 558-unit development—which was the best-selling project in March—sold 368 units or 65.9% of its entire project, accounting for 28.4% of total developer sales.
Other high-end projects such as RV Altitude, The M, Fourth Avenue Residences, Leedon Green, Kopar At Newton and Martin Modern also continued to move units last month.
With Midtown Modern boosting sales, CCR accounted for the bulk of last month’s new home sales at 42.1%. It is followed by the Rest of Central Region (RCR), which made up 29.9% of total sales, and Outside of Central Region (OCR) with 27.9%.
Meanwhile, 55.3% of last month’s total developer sales were priced at the median price of $2,000 to 2,999 per sq ft (psf), compared to 35.8% in February, said Song.
“Looking ahead, the CCR is now poised to be reinvigorated with more new sales from projects such as Irwell Hill Residences that launched in April, selling more than 50% in the first weekend, as well as other unlaunched projects such as Klimt Cairnhill, Peak Residences, One Bernam among others,” said Leonard Tay, Head, Research at Knight Frank Singapore.
Sun also expects Singapore property to continue being a hot favourite of well-heeled investors and affluent overseas buyers when purchasing trophy assets.
“Backed by the prospects of further price growth and a better leasing environment, foreign demand is expected to return gradually,” she said.
In fact, the number of non-landed homes acquired by foreign buyers (non-permanent residents) jumped 66.7% to 55 units in March from 33 units in February, URA REALIS data showed.
The number of non-landed home bought by permanent residents also increased 98.9% to 173 units from 87 units over the same period.
Looking for a property in Singapore? Visit PropertyGuru’s Listings, Project Reviews and Guides.
Cheryl Chiew, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email: cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg
