Singapore’s upscale central region saw luxury home sales hit a 10-year high during the second quarter, reported TODAY citing an OrangeTee report.
The core central region covers Bukit Timah, Holland, Sentosa, Newton Road, Orchard Road and the city areas.
Based on Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data, private home sales within the core central region jumped 25% quarter-on-quarter to 1,930. OrangeTee said it is the highest since Q4 2010 when 2,014 units were shifted.
Private homes sales in the core central region also increased by 4.5 times year-on-year, compared to Q2 2020, when strict Circuit Breaker measures were in place.
ERA Realty’s Head of Research and Consultancy Nicholas Mak attributed the large number of luxury home sales to the high number of units released for sale in Q2 2021.
Related article: What We Know About Singaporean Millennials and Luxury Property in 2021
There were 1,019 new units launched for sale in the core central region in Q2 2021, which was one of the highest since Q4 2013 when 1,093 units were put up for sale, he said.
Other analysts attributed the hike in demand to the presence of high net-worth individuals eyeing to invest in property here as well as to the city-state’s high vaccination rates, which helped boost consumer confidence.
OrangeTee noted that Singapore’s real estate market is attractive to investors due to its relatively low estate taxes compared to other countries.
Expatriates also sees Singapore as a culturally vibrant and liveable country, enticing them to invest here.
Sales of new homes in the core central region rose to an 11-year quarterly high with 813 units sold in Q2 2021, while resales hit a 12-year quarterly high with 1,109 units transacted.
On a psf basis, 337 luxury condominiums changed hands at $3,000 psf, while 45 units were transacted above $4,000 psf, excluding bulk purchases.
During the first three quarters of 2021, there were 339 transactions for condominiums priced at over $5 million each. Of these, 74 fetched over $10 million each.
A 611 sq m apartment unit at Les Maisons Nassim along Nassim Road emerged as the priciest luxury sale in terms of price. The apartment was sold for $39 million in May.
The landed housing segment also witnessed a spike in demand, with 2,407 properties sold islandwide during the first eight months of 2021, or up 140% over the same period last year.
In the first eight months of 2021, over 50 Good Class Bungalows (GCB) were sold, with one such property on Nassim Road transacting at $128.8 million in March.
Related article: Who Are Buying Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) in Singapore?
The number of luxury homes sold during this same eight-month period stood at 3,883, exceeding the annual sales posted in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
The best-selling new luxury condominiums for this year include Midtown Modern, Irwell Hill Residences, Leedon Green, Fourth Avenue Residence and Hyll on Holland.
Looking ahead, OrangeTee expects demand for luxury homes to increase as the city-state opens up its borders and more foreign investors return.
Huttons Asia Chief Executive Officer Mark Yip expects Singapore’s luxury property market to be boosted until 2022 along with a strong recovery of the global economy.
He noted that investors will be attracted to come to the city-state due to its high vaccination rate as well as its stable political environment.
Eugenia Liew, Senior Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories, email eugenialiew@propertyguru.com.sg.
