Based on caveats lodged, new private home sales jumped 77.2% to 1,545 units from the 872 units shifted in June. Photo: Pasir Ris 8 by Allgreen.
New private home sales in Singapore rebounded in July, even as the Government tightened COVID-19 measures during the second half of the month, reported The Business Times (BT).
Based on URA caveats lodged, analysts estimate that new private home sales jumped 77.2% to 1,545 units from the 872 units shifted in June.
So far, the figure is the second-highest monthly sale for this year, at just 5.4% behind that of January, said Huttons Asia CEO Mark Yip. However, he highlighted that there were two major launches in January, compared to one last month.
With a median price of $1,624 per sq ft (psf), Pasir Ris 8 was the sole major launch in July. It was the best-selling project in July, accounting for 27% of last month’s total new home sales.
Yip noted that Pasir Ris 8’s successful launch had a “galvanising effect on other integrated projects and projects in the vicinity”.
ERA’s Head of Research and Consultancy Nicholas Mak said the project’s price hikes later in the month caused buyers to turn to other developments to look for more affordable options.
“After the price increase in Pasir Ris 8, the sales in Normanton Park, Midwood, Sengkang Grand Residences and Ki Residences increased significantly on a basis of units sold per day,” said Mak as quoted by BT.
Sengkang Grand Residences, for instance, sold 31 units from 1 July to 23 July and 58 units during the remaining eight days of July after prices at Pasir Ris 8 were increased on 24 July.
“This shows that some home buyers are price sensitive and would substitute a project at one location for another project at another location, especially if they are investors,” said Mak.
He believes that the increasing prices may also lead to a “fear of missing out” (FOMO) among home buyers.
“Sales picked up across many projects last month as buyers returned to the private residential market in droves. Some rushed to buy units for fear of being priced out of the market as prices seemed to have bottomed out, and Singapore’s economy is poised for further recovery in the coming months,” said OrangeTee & Tie’s Senior Vice-president of Research and Analytics Christine Sun as quoted by BT.
Normanton Park emerged as the second’s best-selling project for July, with 124 units sold at a median price of $1,824. It was followed by Midwood which transacted 91 units at a median price of $1,656.
On an annual basis, new home sales rose 42.7% from the 1,083 units shifted in July last year.
Including executive condominiums (ECs), sales surged 76.7% to 1,700 units from the previous month and 48.5% from July 2020.
“In the first seven months of 2021, developers have sold an estimated 8,004 units. Despite the lunar seventh month in August, developers are likely to push ahead with their launch to ride on the positive momentum. Barring unforeseen circumstances, new sales could possibly hit a high of 12,000 units in 2021,” said Yip as quoted by BT.
In terms of price, homes within the $1 million to $1.5 million range led the month, accounting for 39% of total transactions, excluding ECs. About 28.9% of homes sold cost $1.5 million to $2 million, while 17.5% of transactions were within the $2 million to $3 million bracket.
The Outside Central Region (OCR) continued to account for the bulk of new home sales, excluding ECs, last month.
Including Pasir Ris 8, the region made up 65.2% of new home sales in July, while the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Core Central Region (CCR) accounted for 25.8% and 9%, respectively, showed OrangeTee & Tie data.
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this story, email: victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
