New home sales shrink in December after November spike, but are 50% higher on year
Developers sell 203 new units, down 92% from November high, taking 2024 total to 6,560 units
PROPERTY developers sold a total of 203 new homes excluding executive condominiums (ECs) in December 2024, as sales receded from an extraordinary surge in the month before, data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday (Jan 15) showed.
Still, last month’s sales were 50 per cent higher than the 135 units sold in the year-ago period, and the highest for December since 2021. Amid the seasonal year-end lull, buying activity spilled over from a swell in the number of units launched in November, during which six new condominium projects hit the market.
New home sales in December were 92 per cent lower than the 2,560 units sold in November, which had the highest number of units sold monthly since March 2013.
Last month’s sales took the tally for 2024 to 6,560 units – up 2.2 per cent from the year before, when developer sales sank to a 15-year low, said Tricia Song, CBRE head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia. Prior to 2023, the trough was in 2008 during the global financial crisis.
For the whole of 2024, an estimated 6,647 units were launched, 12 per cent less than the 7,551 units marketed in 2023.
Christine Sun, OrangeTee Group’s chief researcher and strategist, attributed the muted numbers to the multiple rounds of property cooling measures, repercussions of high interest rates, and competing supply from the completion of several new homes since 2021.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Tuesday, 12 pm
Property Insights
Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.
Only 20 new units were launched last December, down from the 2,871 units in November, and fewer than the 36 units made available for sale in December 2023.
The pause “allows developers to calibrate and prepare to capitalise on the improved buying sentiment anticipated in the new year”, said Chia Siew Chuin, JLL’s head of residential research, research and consultancy.
With more than 10,000 units expected to be marketed this year, analysts are forecasting new home sales to hit between 7,000 and 9,000 units for 2025.
Six projects are lined up for February alone, anticipated to be rolled out after Chinese New Year, said Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia’s senior director of data analytics.
These include major developments such as the 501-unit Elta in Clementi, the 477-unit Lentor Central Residences, as well as the 1,193-unit Parktown Residence and the 760-unit EC project Aurelle – both in Tampines.
The year opened with the launch of The Orie, a 777-unit condo in Toa Payoh, and the 113-unit Bagnall Haus in East Coast. Both start booking sales this weekend.
Private home prices are projected to grow by between 3 and 6 per cent in 2025 on lower interest rates, strong household balance sheets, still-low unsold inventory, and an attractive pipeline of new launches which could set benchmark prices, CBRE’s Song said.
Including ECs, there were 373 new units sold in December 2024, down 87 per cent from the 2,894 units in November, but more than double the 152 units sold in the same month in 2023.
The best-selling project last month was Novo Place in Tengah. The EC sold 158 units at a median price of S$1,647 per square foot (psf) in December – a month after it was launched and when the project was opened to second-timer buyers, said Wong Siew Ying, PropNex Realty’s head of research and content.
The project has sold 88 per cent or 445 out of its 504 units to date.
In December, The Continuum benefited from spillover demand following the near sell-out of Emerald of Katong in November, said Marcus Chu, ERA Singapore’s chief executive officer.
The freehold project moved 15 units at a median price of S$2,864 psf, 9 per cent higher than that of the 99-year leasehold Emerald of Katong, which was S$2,626 psf.
In the luxury market, there were four non-landed transactions priced above S$5 million in December.
The most expensive unit was a 4,219-square-foot unit at 32 Gilstead, which was sold at S$14.6 million (S$3,455 psf) to a foreign buyer, according to ERA.
Huttons’ Lee noted there were six units purchased by foreigners in December, down from 22 units in November, and at over S$2.5 million each.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
