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Property

New private home sales climb 57% last month

By LEE YEN NEE

[email protected]

Published: 4:16 AM, April 16, 2015


SINGAPORE — Sales of new private homes in the Republic jumped 57 per cent last month from February, as buyers resumed property-hunting after the year-end and Chinese New Year festivities.

Developers sold a total of 613 units last month, up from 390 sales in February and 480 homes a year ago, according to data released yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which had compiled the numbers from a survey of developers.

The monthly statistics also showed that the number of units launched last month was higher, at 400, compared with 389 in February, but lower than the 724 homes in March last year.

Despite the improvement in sales, analysts said there was no indication that the market had as a whole taken a turn for the better, with buying interest mostly concentrated in two projects — Kingsford Waterbay on Upper Serangoon View and Sims Urban Oasis on Sims Drive, which sold 155 and 107 units at a median of S$1,111 and S$1,401 per square foot (psf), respectively.

The two projects helped prop up the total number of units sold in the suburban areas and city fringes to 391 and 197, respectively, the URA figures showed. In the city centre, 25 units found buyers last month.

“These two projects accounted for more than 40 per cent of the total number of units sold; the other sales seem to spread across many projects. There’s no clear trend, no clear concentration of a geographic interest and we’re not seeing widespread strength returning to the market through this set of statistics,” said Mr Ku Swee Yong, chief executive of real estate firm Century 21.

Besides Kingsford Waterbay and Sims Urban Oasis, other projects that managed to offload units last month registered fewer than 30 transactions. City Gate on Beach Road and The Skywoods at Dairy Farm Heights were the next best-selling projects, with 28 and 27 sales, respectively.

Mr Donald Han, managing director of Chestertons, also said the year-on-year jump in sales was not a reflection of a turnaround in sentiment. Instead, a project’s location attributes and price are important determinants of sales.

In March last year, more than 80 per cent of newly-launched units were from The Santorini condominium on Tampines Street 86, whose median price of around S$1,100 psf was deemed high, resulting in low take-up.

But Mr Han said the pick-up in sales last month was also typical of a post-seasonal lull, when developers ramp up launches and potential buyers return to the market in greater numbers, especially after several quarters of continuous price moderations.

“Even then, 600 is not a great number. We’ve seen better monthly performances post-TDSR (Total Debt Servicing Ratio). I expect the numbers to trend upwards in the coming months. April will certainly do better because combined units sold at North Park Residences and Botanique at Bartley have matched or even exceeded March’s total sales,” Mr Han said.

Echoing his views was Mr Desmond Sim, head of CBRE Research for Singapore and South-east Asia. He added that the recent climb in the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR), a reference for many mortgages here, could push more people to commit to purchases.

“The market continues to wrestle with buyers who are taking a longer time to make decisions on purchases, but as long as prices remain palatable, sales will be inked. The recent rise in the SIBOR rates may accelerate decision-making for buyers in the months to come, as they would want to lock in the rates before they rise further. However, buyers are still restricted by a lock in credit,” said Mr Sim.