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February private new home sales remained robust

Latest Property Real Estate News - Published on 15/03/2012

February’s private home sales continue to be undaunted by the uncertain economic outlook and recent cooling measures, with 3,138 transactions for the month (including Executive Condominiums ECs), a record high volume. Excluding ECs, this marks a 118% year-on-year (Y-on-Y) increase to 2,413 units compared to 1,105 units in February 2011.

In February, the top selling projects were—Parc Rosewood at Woodlands sold 380 units with median prices of $994psf, Guillemard Edge at Geylang sold 275 units at a median price of $1,215psf while ECs like Twin Waterfalls sold 257 units at median price of $727psf while 187 units were sold at Tampines Trilliant.

The sales volume was largely sustained by transactions in the OCR (Outside Central Region), which posted another record number of transactions at 1,830. 23% of the total private sales volume was contributed by the sale of ECs, with 725 units being snapped up in February mainly due to the increased income ceiling for the purchase of ECs. The increased supply had also generated a renewed interest in this segment for many home buyers.

“Property developers had held back the launches in December 2011, especially after the ABSD. However, encouraged by the strong take-up rate of properties in January 2012, developers’ timely release of new launches in February had gained momentum and many had pushed ahead with their launches in the OCR while activity remained muted within the Core Central Region (CCR),” commented Mr Mohammed Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty.

Mr Ismail added that buyers of these private homes are mostly first-timers or second home local investors; as such they are not affected by with the imposition of the ABSD. Homes in the outside core region (OCR) continue to dominate the supply and sales. Once again, robust mass market sales had led the charge in February.

“Moving forward, we expect the sale of mass-market projects to remain healthy. Developers will continue to be innovative in the lifestyle options for new projects while at the same time, offering attractive discounts to negate the ABSD. The mixed-used projects had proven popular with Singaporeans judging from the fast-selling trends. Demand is expected to be supply-driven, depending on the location and the launch, naturally, developments with reasonable pricing and unique selling points will be well-received. Although prospective buyers have remained price-sensitive and prudent; however, given recent projects launched many home buyers are seizing the chances of upgrading,” remarked CEO Mohd Ismail.

It is a vastly different trend in the high-end segment which is at a “standstill” now with only 11 homes priced above $2,500psf sold in February. Homes on the city fringe (RCR) performed well with record 527 units sold. The demand in the city centre is expected to remain subdued as it has a higher proportion of foreign buyers compared with suburban areas.

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Carolyn Goh
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