Blossoms by the Park, Tembusu Grand launches push new home sales up 80.3% in April

SALES of new private residential units (excluding executive condominiums or ECs) continued rising in April, pushed by the launches of Blossoms by the Park and Tembusu Grand.

But even as sales momentum accelerates, there are signs that developers are coming under pressure to lower prices, with some buyers having been sidelined after the latest market cooling measures and still-high interest rates.

Urban Redevelopment Authority data released on Monday (May 15) showed that in April, developers sold 887 units, excluding ECs, up 80.3 per cent from the 492 units sold in March. 

This was the fourth consecutive month of increase in new home sales and the highest volume in seven months. Year on year, the number of units sold last month was up 34.2 per cent; 661 units were sold in April 2022.

Analysts noted that price pressures were noticeably muted among the top 10 selling projects, which included The Atelier in the prime core central region (CCR) and The Botany at Dairy Farm in the outside central region (OCR). 

Lam Chern Woon, head of research and consulting at Edmund Tie, said only four of these projects – The Landmark, Piccadilly Grand, Midtown Modern, The Botany at Dairy Farm – clocked a higher median sales price in April, compared to seven projects in March. 

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Tuesday, 12 pm

Property Insights

Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.

Sign Up

He said: “These four projects saw prices rise by 3 per cent month on month on average in April, while four other projects saw prices decline by 2.5 per cent month on month on average.”

“Developers are mindful to limit price increases to maintain affordability.” 

Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for South-east Asia, noted that some projects in the CCR moved more units as they “dangled more discounts post the Apr 27 cooling measures”.

“In particular, The Atelier, near Newton, sold 46 units or 38 per cent of its total 120 units in April alone, at a median price of S$2,658 per square foot (psf), 8.8 per cent lower than the median price of S$2,916 psf when it first launched and sold four units in March 2021,” she said.

By region, the Rest of Central Region (RCR) contributed to the bulk of April’s transactions, making up 70.8 per cent of total sales at 628 units sold, excluding ECs. Another 23.4 per cent of sales or 208 units were from the CCR.

The remaining 5.7 per cent or 51 units were in the OCR, amid a lack of new launches in April in the region, said Chia Siew Chuin, head of Residential Research, Research and Consultancy at JLL.

Including ECs, 909 units were sold in April, up from both the 513 units sold in March and the 847 units sold in March 2022. 

There were 779 new private housing units launched in April, a 36 per cent increase from the 573 units in March.

The first launch after new cooling measures were introduced, Blossoms by the Park, sold 74.5 per cent or 205 units of its 275 units at a median price of S$2,427 psf. Tembusu Grand moved 55.5 per cent or 354 units of its 638 units at a median price of S$2,463 psf.

OrangeTee & Tie senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun said the new Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates did not deter Singaporeans from buying Blossoms by the Park; they made up the bulk of purchasers at 83.9 per cent.

More than half the units sold were below 70 square metres, she added. 

Units sold to foreign buyers in April almost doubled to 70, the highest number of such transactions since May 2022, said Huttons Asia senior director of research Lee Sze Teck.

He observed that quite a number of foreigners committed to a purchase immediately upon the approval of their permanent residency status, given that Singapore remains an attractive destination beyond the recent ABSD increase. 

“Interest among foreigners in luxury homes has not declined significantly after the cooling measures,” said Lee. “Appointments for viewing of luxury homes by foreigners are still active.”

Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of property portal Mogul.sg, noted that the proportion of private homes bought by foreigners held steady in April at 8 per cent, having declined from 14 per cent in January 2023. 

Based on caveats lodged as at May 15, the bulk – about 44 per cent – of new sales in April were transacted in the S$2 million to S$5 million range. Another 36.7 per cent were in the S$1.5 million to S$2 million range, while 16.6 per cent of deals were in the under-S$1.5 million bracket.

Lee said that while past cooling measures resulted in a dip in quarterly transaction volume, this was unlikely to happen in Q2 2023.

He expects developers to chalk up sales in the range of 1,500 to 1,600 units for Q2, with the upcoming launch of The Reserve Residences, compared to 1,256 units new units sold in Q1.

Analysts have adjusted their forecasts for price increases to between 3 and 6 per cent, compared to the 8.6 per cent rise in private home prices last year. 

Prices in the RCR and OCR – where unsold supply of launched units is lower and caters to a bigger pool of owner-occupiers – will likely remain resilient, PropNex Realty’s head of research and content Wong Siew Ying noted. The prime CCR segment – which tends to draw more foreign investment interest – may experience marginal price growth this year.