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SINGAPORE: Sales of new private homes in Singapore increased 18.9 percent in November, reversing a decline seen in October, thanks to the launch of new projects by developers.
Private developers sold 767 units, excluding executive condos (EC), in November, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed on Tuesday (December 15).
This figure is 18.9 percent higher than the 645 units in October, but a 34.2 percent drop from the same month last year, when 1,165 homes were sold.
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Most of the units sold last month – 447 – were in the Rest of the Central Region (RCR).
The Outer Central Region (OCR) saw the sale of 236 units, while 84 homes were sold in the Central Central Region (CCR).
ECONOMIC RECOVERY OPTIMISM
Christine Sun, director of research and consulting at OrangeTee & Tie, believes that buyers are looking beyond the COVID-19 pandemic in hopes of an economic recovery, and Singapore will soon enter Phase 3 of its reopening.
On Monday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in a televised speech that Singapore will enter Phase 3 of its reopening on December 28. Singapore also approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, with the first shipment due to arrive by the end of December, Mr. Lee said.
“More business and social activities are expected to resume,” Ms Sun said, adding that the optimism of the vaccine has also bolstered investor confidence.
“Mass vaccination programs have been in the works in many countries, including Singapore, which has announced plans to soon implement inoculation for healthcare workers, front-line workers and vulnerable patients,” added Ms Sun.
NEW PROJECTS, PREVIOUS PROMOTIONS
Developer sales in November were also boosted by new projects, as well as continued interest in developments that were previously released.
Developers put 1,375 new units for sale last month, more than triple the 423 units put on the market in October.
There were two new project launches, The Linq @ Beauty World and The Landmark in Outram, in November.
Of the 120 units that each launched in November, The Linq sold 118 homes, while The Landmark moved 109 apartments. Together, the two projects accounted for nearly 30 percent of total new home sales in November.
“While the new launches have boosted home sales in November, it’s worth noting that projects that were launched previously also continued to sell units at a steady pace,” said Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex.
“About 70 percent of November sales came from projects that were already on the market.
“Buyers probably took the time to evaluate the prices of various developments and returned to picking up properties in projects that they felt offered the best value for their budget,” he added.
OTP IS NOT A DIFFERENCE
The healthy November sales also indicate that some buyers in the market were unaffected by the new call option reissue (OTP) restrictions, Ms. Sun noted.
Under the new rules, developers cannot reissue an OTP to the same buyer for the same unit within 12 months of the expiration of the previous OTP.
“The crackdown triggered a knee-jerk reaction that caused a temporary setback in October sales,” Sun said.
In November, “wealthy buyers were largely unaffected by the new restrictions on the OTP reissue, as buyers’ appetite for more expensive homes remained strong,” he added.
PERSPECTIVES FOR THE FULL YEAR
According to Propnex, new home sales have been stable this year despite the pandemic.
“A total of 8,791 private new home sales (excluding EC) were sold in the first 11 months of the year, and it appears on track to exceed 9,700 units for the full year 2020, just shy of the 9,912 units sold in 2019.” . Ismail Gafoor, CEO of Propnex, said.
“Going forward, we are cautiously optimistic about the housing market outlook and anticipate that sentiment should remain positive as COVID-19 remains under control and Singapore’s economy continues to improve.”
