New private home sales creep up in March; record number of ECs sold for S$2 million or more
Developers’ sales for the month totalled at 729 units, up a slight 1.5 per cent from a year ago
[SINGAPORE] Developers in Singapore sold 729 private homes in March, inching up 1.5 per cent from the 718 units moved a year earlier, data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed on Tuesday (Apr 15).
The latest March sales figure – which excludes executive condominiums (ECs) – is, however, less than half of the 1,597 units sold in February this year.
Including ECs, 1,510 units were sold in March with 1,315 units launched, versus the 832 units sold and 877 units launched in the same month in 2024. In comparison, 1,626 units were sold and 1,694 units were launched in February 2025.
This brought the number of private homes, excluding ECs, sold in the first quarter of 2025 to around 3,400 units – the highest recorded in Q1 since 2021’s 3,574 homes, said Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia senior director of data analytics.
That represents nearly 51 per cent of the 6,626 new non-landed private homes sold in the entire 2024, said Marcus Chu, ERA chief executive officer.
Of the ECs sold, a record 162 units changed hands for at least S$2 million in March – surpassing the previous peak of 33 units in August 2023, noted Christine Sun, OrangeTee Group’s chief researcher and strategist.
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The majority, at over 90 per cent or 148 units, were sold at Aurelle of Tampines; 12 units at Lumina Grand in Bukit Batok; and the remaining two at Altura, also in Bukit Batok.
This brings the number of unsold new ECs to just around 70 units, with Aurelle of Tampines being fully sold, said PropNex head of research and context Wong Siew Ying.
On a per-square-foot (psf) basis, Sun said a record 751 EC units transacted at over S$1,500 psf in March. Among these, 148 units were sold over S$1,800 psf – outperforming the median price of resale condos in the suburbs at S$1,533 psf and just a shade lower than that of the city fringe at S$1,891 psf.
The priciest in absolute price quantum was a 1,356 square feet unit at Aurelle of Tampines, which transacted at S$2.48 million or S$1,829 psf.
Stirring market
Knight Frank research head Leonard Tay attributed the sustained uplift in buyer sentiment to “more benign interest rates that motivated homebuyers to shift from much of the watch-and-wait stance seen in 2024 into a purchase”.
Most homebuyers were also focused on new launches, incentivised by the reduced upfront costs required during the staged phases of construction, as well as “the appeal of owning a brand-new private home”, said Tay.
SRI head of research and data analytics Mohan Sandrasegeran added that the robust sales momentum in the first quarter was fuelled by “resilient buyer demand and timely project rollouts”. “In particular, the strong performance was driven by notable launches in the Outside Central Region (OCR) and Rest of Central Region (RCR) – locations that continue to attract buyers seeking both affordability and accessibility,” he said.
Among the three market segments, the OCR continued to lead in condo and private apartment sales, accounting for 81.8 per cent of sales in March.
This was followed by the RCR, or city fringe, which accounted for 11.9 per cent of primary sales, and the prime Core Central Region (CCR), which made up just 6.3 per cent of new sales last month.
Lee said Aurea at Golden Mile and Lentor Central Residences – the two major private residential projects launched in March – made up around two-thirds of total sales in March.
Aurea, a mixed-used development along Nicoll Highway, sold 24 units out of 78 that were launched, a showing that was similar to past launches in the CCR, said Lee.
Meanwhile, the 477-unit Lentor Central Residences at Lentor Hills Road in the OCR has sold 460 units, or 96.4 per cent, of its units – making it the best-selling condominium project by percentage terms in the year to date, he said.
This also brought the number of new homes transacted in the OCR to 2,256 units – the highest quarterly tally in around 12 years, since 2,760 OCR homes were sold in Q2 2013, said Wong.
Uncertainties ahead
While buyer sentiment saw a strong upturn in the past two quarters, Wong of PropNex said heightened market uncertainties and global trade tensions will sway confidence moving forward.
“As the property market is sentiment-driven, the downside risks and uncertainties brought about by the tariffs may influence home buying decisions, particularly among investors,” she said. “Meanwhile, we anticipate demand from end-users purchasing a home for (their) own stay could be more stable as they are in it for the long haul.”
This may result in a 50 per cent drop in primary residential sales in the second quarter, said Nicholas Mak, Mogul.sg chief research officer.
Still, Wong pointed out that even with heightened caution and market turmoil in recent weeks, the two new launches in April – Bloomsbury Residences in Media Circle and One Marina Gardens – saw “quite positive” sales performances.
This reflects a certain level of resilience in private housing demand, and indicates that developers’ sales for April may trend at around the same level as March, she said.
Additionally, Tay reckoned that should unemployment remain low and retrenchments contained, domestic demand could be supported “once some clarity takes shape on the global scene”.
“Household balance sheets continue to remain strong with debt at manageable levels, and this was what happened during the pandemic when demand strengthened in the later half of 2020 despite the year being the biggest recession on record for Singapore,” Tay added.
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