New private homes in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) accounted for the bulk of sales last month at 40.2% of the 1,262 units in April 2021.
New private home sales in Singapore dropped 2.6% month-on-month to 1,262 units in April, showed Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data on Monday (17 May).
On an annual basis, sales surged 355.6% as the rollout of the circuit breaker in April last year saw the closure of all show flats.
Including executive condominiums (EC), new home sales declined 2.3% month-on-month to 1,342 units.
The Rest of Central Region (RCR) accounted for the bulk of sales last month at 40.2%, followed by the Core Central Region (CCR) at 35.2% and the Outside of Central Region (OCR) at 24.6%.
Irwell Hill Residences emerged as the best-selling project in April as it shifted 315 units. One-North Eden came in second as it sold 141 units, followed by Normanton Park (81 units), Treasure at Tampines (49 units) and Amber Park (35 units).
Also on the top ten list are The Florence Residences, Avenue South Residence, Parc Clematis, Fourth Avenue Residences and Ki Residences at Brookvale.
“The sales performance for the overall market is healthy despite the slight decrease in sales volume considering a higher proportion of pricier homes were sold and no mass market projects were launched,” said Christine Sun, Senior Vice-President of Research and Analytics at OrangeTee & Tie.
In fact, this is the seventh time that monthly sales surpassed 1,000 units since the circuit breaker measures were lifted in June last year, said Huttons Asia.
“It is also the strongest April sales since 2017,” it added.
Sun also noted a significant hike in condominiums sold at higher prices.
“The proportion of non-landed homes (exclude EC) sold above $2,000 per sq ft (psf) leapt from 26.2% in January and 38.8% in February to 55.4% in April this year, indicating stronger consumer confidence and appetite for pricier homes,” she said.
She revealed that 14 new non-landed homes were sold for at least $5 million last month, with the priciest unit being a 470 sq m apartment at 15 Holland Hill. The freehold unit went for $15.2 million or $3,002 psf.
Meanwhile, Singaporeans accounted for 81.5% of the total sales in April, while permanent residents (PRs) and foreigners made up 13.5% and 5%, respectively, said Huttons.
Looking ahead, Sun expects the tightened social distancing measures implemented by the government under the Phase Two (Heightened Alert) period from 16 May to 13 June to “affect the pace of sales and market sentiments in the short term”.
Huttons said the lowered capacity for show flats could lengthen the decision-making process for buyers and lead to lower transaction volume for May and June.
Sun, however, believes that technology infrastructure—which has been stepped up since last year’s circuit breaker period—may help mitigate some of the adverse effects of the tightened measures.
“The use of virtual and augmented reality have helped to digitalize the home buying experience and made online searches more seamless and accessible to buyers,” she said.
“Agents and buyers are getting more accustomed to virtual property viewings through videos and live stream. Therefore, the property sector seems to be more prepared to ensure business continuity than a year ago.”
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Cheryl Chiew, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email: cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg
