http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...-pick-20141011

September new home sales tipped to pick up

Experts forecast 500-600 units sold, ahead of release of official figures

Published on Oct 11, 2014 1:22 AM

By Cheryl Ong


SALES of new homes last month probably picked up as developers were eager to push out new units to capture buyers before the Christmas holidays.

Consultants tip that between 500 and 600 units were sold last month - an improvement on the 432 units moved in August, which was the lowest since the meagre 259 transactions in December.

Official sales numbers will be out on Wednesday.

If expert estimates are on the money, around 1,500 to 1,600 new units would have been sold in the third quarter.

"Developers started rolling out their launches from September to capitalise on existing demand ahead of the annual school-holiday season," said Mr Tan Tee Khoon, executive director of residential services at Knight Frank Singapore.

This was in marked contrast with August when few projects were launched, given the Hungry Ghost month - largely seen as an inauspicious time to buy a home.

New home sales averaged between 480 and 760 units a month for the first eight months of the year, except for May when City Developments' (CDL) 944-unit Coco Palms in Pasir Ris helped to rack up transactions of 1,488 units.

September's launches included Keppel Land's Highline Residences, Seventy St Patrick's from UOL and Forte Holdings' Forte Suites.

About 30 per cent of the 106-unit Forte Suites has been sold at an average price of $1,748 per sq ft (psf). The 186-unit Seventy St Patrick's has moved around 64 per cent of its units at around $1,630 psf. At least a quarter of the 500-unit Highline Residences has been sold at an average $1,900 psf.

Mr Mohd Ismail, chief executive of Propnex Realty, expects sales from earlier launches, such as Commonwealth Towers and The Panorama, to have contributed to September's score card.

He said: "In view of the continued enforcement of various government policies and loan curbs, as well as purchasers' price-sensitivity, developers are also expected to price their projects competitively to maintain sales momentum to attract potential buyers."

Developer M+S has sold around 300 of the 1,042 units at Marina One Residences since bulk sales began last weekend for between $1,960 and $3,100 psf.

However, Mr Joseph Tan, executive director of residential at CBRE, reckons developers will focus their efforts on launching projects that are nearing completion in order to avoid penalties levied on unsold units. These could include upmarket properties such as Wheelock Properties' Ardmore 3 and Nouvel 18, by a joint venture between Wing Tai and CDL.

Consultants Knight Frank added: "Alternatively, developers may not officially launch a luxury project and conduct viewings by appointment only until a more opportune time to stage a launch. That's largely the reason why some new developments are taking a longer time to hit the market."

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