CONDOMINIUM resale prices continued to climb for the fourth consecutive month in November, although volumes were muted after showing signs of recovery in October.

Flash data from SRX and 99.co released on Tuesday (Dec 26) showed that overall resale prices rose 0.4 per cent from the month before, and were 7.4 per cent higher year on year.

Resale volumes, meanwhile, were muted, with 848 units changing hands in November, compared with 847 units resold in October. Year on year, volumes were 6.3 per cent higher, but 4.1 per cent lower than the five-year average for the month of November.

The launch of three major non-landed launches in November – J’den, Watten House and Hillock Green – had a spillover effect on the resale market, said Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip.

“Buyers who were priced out or didn’t manage to secure their ideal unit went to the resale market and pushed up volume slightly,” he added.

Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, attributed the increase in resale prices to the completion of many new condo units in recent months.

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New homes tend to command higher prices, she said, noting that the majority of these new condos were completed in the Outside Central Region (OCR) or suburbs.

Based on SRX and 99.co data, 42.7 per cent of resale condo transactions in November took place in the OCR.

This was followed by 33.9 per cent in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), and 18.9 per cent in the Core Central Region (CCR).

In terms of resale prices, the CCR and OCR registered increases at 3.1 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. Resale prices in the RCR dropped 1.3 per cent month on month.

Eugene Lim, ERA Singapore’s key executive officer, said the CCR had the highest number of recently completed homes that were sold, leading to stronger price growth in November.

Year on year, all regions recorded price increases. The OCR led gains at 10.7 per cent, followed by the RCR at 6.3 per cent and CCR at 4.5 per cent.

The percentage of sub-sale transactions to secondary sale transactions stood at 10.6 per cent, down 1.9 per cent from the prior month.

Sub-sale transactions refer to secondary sale transactions prior to a project’s completion, while secondary sale transactions comprise both resale and sub-sale transactions.

PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Yin expects resale volumes to ease in December due to the year-end seasonal lull and festive period, when market activity tends to slow.

Some sellers could also take longer to find a buyer amid heightened competition, said ERA’s Lim.

He noted that investors would be faced with the burden of increased mortgage payments, higher property taxes and limited rental upside due to increased competition for tenants.

“For those with limited holding power, it makes economic sense for them to offload their unit in the near term with resale prices holding firm,” he said.

The highest transacted price for a resale unit in November was S$15.2 million for a unit at Nassim Jade in the CCR.

In the RCR, the most expensive resale unit, in The Sovereign, sold for S$6.5 million. The most expensive in the OCR was a unit at Clementi Park, which sold for S$4.78 million.

The overall median capital gain for resale condos fell to S$330,000 in November, down S$10,000 from the month before.

District 26 (Mandai, Upper Thomson) posted the highest median capital gain at S$660,000. District 1 (Boat Quay, Raffles Place, Marina), on the other hand, recorded the lowest median capital gain at minus S$120,000.

District 23 (Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang) recorded the highest median unlevered return at 54.4 per cent, while District 1 posted the lowest median unlevered return at minus 7.8 per cent.

Capital gains and returns of a condo resale unit are calculated by comparing the current transacted price with the previous transacted price of the same unit. Districts with fewer than 10 matching transactions are excluded from the ranking.