Singapore private home sales fall 32% in March on Covid-19 hit: URA

DEVELOPERS in Singapore sold 660 private homes in March, down 32.4 per cent from February's 976 units, as the coronavirus pandemic situation deteriorated.

It was 37.4 per cent lower over March 2019's 1,054 units.

The fall was due to the dive in sales in the core central region (CCR), where 45 units were sold, down 89.1 per cent from the previous month's 412. February's sales were boosted by Wing Tai's The M, which moved 380 units.

The 522-unit The M in Middle Road was the top seller for February. Despite the virus outbreak, 73 per cent of its units were sold during the launch month at a median price of S$2,439 per square foot.

Sales in the rest of central region (RCR) and outside central region (OCR) showed healthy gains, up 7.2 per cent to 282 units and 10.6 per cent to 333 units in March respectively.

Altogether, 578 units were launched in March, of which 101 were in the CCR, 163 in RCR and 314 in OCR. In February, 933 units were launched, of which 601 were in the CCR, 115 in RCR and 217 in OCR.

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Last month, no mega projects were launched in CCR, said Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie's head of research & consultancy.

"New home sales in RCR and OCR remained resilient last month as many deals were probably near completion prior to the worsening of the Covid-19 outbreak and before stricter safe-distancing measures kicked in at the end of March," she said. 

"Some investors may have also bought properties to diversify their investment portfolios after the stock market rout in March," Ms Sun added. 

The figures - which were released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday and based on its survey of licensed housing developers - exclude executive condominium (EC) units, which are a public-private housing hybrid. Including ECs, developers moved 904 units in March, down 31.3 per cent from February's 1,315 units.

Despite the sharp fall in March, sales in the first quarter of 2020 were fairly decent.

Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia's director (research), noted that last month's sales were the sixth consecutive month that monthly sales volume exceeded launch volume.

"If we compare 1Q 2019 to 1Q 2020, 2020 is a very good year for the market, with sales estimated to be 16 per cent higher than the same period in 2019. Property is proving to be an enduring asset class for many in times of uncertainty and the desire for wealth preservation amid the stock market rout," he said.

April sales are taking a hit because of the "circuit breaker", Mr Lee noted. During the "circuit-breaker" from April 7 to May 4, people are allowed to go out only for essential services.

"However, if initial first-week sales are any indication of demand for property, there is cause for optimism. An estimated 150 caveats for new private residential properties were lodged in the first five days of April," he said.

Source: URA, Huttons Research