Developers’ sales jump to highest level in 4 months in March amid uptick in launches

DEVELOPERS in Singapore sold 718 private homes in March, more than quadrupling from 149 units sold in February, based on data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday (Apr 15).

New private home sales, excluding executive condominium units (ECs), also hit their highest level in four months.  

On a year-on-year basis, developer sales were up 45.9 per cent from the 492 units sold in March 2023, but were 13.6 per cent lower than the five-year average of 831 units for the month of March, noted JLL head of residential research Chia Siew Chuin.

“Compared to a year ago, prospective homebuyers have turned more cautious due to multiple rounds of market cooling measures, softer economic conditions and high financing cost,” said Chia. She added that increased options and prices have made homebuyers more selective and price-conscious, resulting in slower sales take-up as they take longer to make homebuying decisions.

The March numbers took sales for the first quarter of the year to 1,175 units. The Q1 tally was 7.6 per cent higher than the 1,092 units sold in Q4 2023, but 6.4 per cent lower than the year-ago quarter, CBRE head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia Tricia Song pointed out.

“Selected projects with superior attributes at realistic price points outperformed while overall sales remained tepid,” she added.

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Lentor Mansion accounted for the bulk of sales during the month. Out of the 533 units launched, about 409 units were sold in March at a median price of S$2,269 per square foot (psf).

The project became the best-performing new launch since J’den in Jurong East sold 88 per cent of its 368 units at its November 2023 launch, said Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty. The 267-unit Lentoria – the second top-selling project in March – moved 60 units at a median price of S$2,129 psf, added Wong.

Lee Sze Teck, Huttons senior director of data analytics, noted that almost 75 per cent of units sold in Lentor Mansion were priced below S$2 million.

Demand remains intact, said Leonard Tay, Knight Frank Singapore’s head of research, but buyers “have more choices now than they did in the property boom during and soon after the pandemic... the variety of options have led to longer decision-making before purchase”.

Huttons’ Lee observed that while foreign buying remained low at 1.8 per cent of purchases in March, there was a jump in the number of purchases by foreigners to 13, up from 4 in February 2024.

The Outside Central Region (OCR) saw the bulk of sales in March with 605 units sold, making up 84.3 per cent of total sales. Some 66 units were moved in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), accounting for 9.2 per cent of sales. In the Core Central Region (CCR), 47 units were sold, representing 6.6 per cent.

Notably, projects in the CCR, where sales have taken a hit from higher stamp duties imposed on foreign purchasers and investment buyers, saw sales improve from the 34 units sold in February. The better performance “came on the back of Cuscaden Reserve cutting prices by about 20 per cent, which may have triggered more buyer interest and bargain hunting in the CCR”, said CBRE’s Song.

Watten House moved another 12 units at a median price of S$3,255 psf, while 19 Nassim sold 11 units at a median S$3,304 psf. Two prime projects sold their last units in March – Leedon Green at S$3,135 psf and Pullman Residences at S$3,435 psf.

PropNex’s Wong found that new home prices rose during the month. The median transacted price of non-landed new private homes sold in the OCR rose 9.2 per cent in March compared to February, while that of projects in the CCR went up 4.5 per cent. The median price in the RCR, meanwhile, dipped by 0.8 per cent in March.

URA’s flash estimates indicate that overall private home prices rose 1.5 per cent in Q1, slowing from their 2.8 per cent increase in the quarter before.

The number of units launched in March totalled 877. OCR projects led with 800 units, followed by the RCR with 52 units and the CCR with 25 units.

Including ECs, 832 units were sold in March versus 183 units sold in February.