37% jump in new private home sales last month

[reporter2]

37% jump in new private home sales last month

Feb 15, 2018

522 units sold by developers, as analysts say fear of rising prices pushed some to buy

Kalpana Rashiwala


Some 522 private homes were sold by developers last month, up 37 per cent from the 382 units sold a year ago and 21 per cent more than the 431 units moved in December.

In addition, developers sold 100 executive condominium (EC) units last month, just like in the previous month, but a drop from 184 units in January last year.

The figures were released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday based on its surveys of licensed housing developers.

Analysts generally termed the January sales as "healthy", especially given that no new private housing or EC projects were launched last month among projects that were still licensed.

The transactions last month provided for the best January sales figure since January 2014, when 572 units were sold.

Mr Desmond Sim, CBRE Research's head of Singapore and South-east Asia, said: "With the market swamped with reports on a recovery, in terms of prices as well as a buoyant collective sale market nudging land costs up, the fear of missing out or falling on the wrong side of the price recovery has possibly nudged the undecided to make a decision.

"In addition, the market is about to enter a different interest rate environment, which may be a catalyst to this decision-making process."

Cushman & Wakefield research director Christine Li said the year-on-year fall in EC units sold last month was "due not to faltering demand but a dwindling unsold EC inventory".

As of the end of last month, there were only 296 EC units that had been launched but remained unsold. The next EC project launch will be the 628-unit Rivercove Residences in Sengkang, likely in April.

In the absence of new launches - for both private residential and EC projects - last month, home buyers continued to dip into previously launched projects.

JLL's analysis of URA figures showed that EL Development's Symphony Suites in Yishun was the best-selling private housing development in the primary market last month, with 65 units transacted at a median price of $1,085 per square foot (psf). Keppel Land moved 42 units at Highline Residences in Kim Tian Road at $1,962 psf median price.

In the EC segment, last month's bestseller was Parc Life in Sembawang Crescent, with 25 units sold at $824 psf median price, followed by iNz Residence in Choa Chu Kang, with 20 units sold at a median price of $839 psf.

Developers' sales figures can be expected to rise in the coming months as new projects are launched after Chinese New Year.

Most property consultants are forecasting primary-market private home sales in the range of 11,000 to 14,000 units for the whole of this year - up from 10,566 units last year.

"The firm economic outlook for Singapore this year should continue to drive positive sentiment and confidence in the property market," said Ms Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at Colliers International.

On the supply side, ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak said there are potentially slightly more than 20 private housing projects with 12,500 units in total that could be launched this year.

[reporter2]

Developers post best January private home sales in four years

Thu, Feb 15, 2018

Kalpana Rashiwala


DEVELOPERS have posted their best January private home sales figures in four years but how sales pan out for the full year will have a lot to do with developers' launch and pricing strategies, say industry players.

Generally, the view is that 11,000 to 14,000 private homes are likely to be transacted in the primary market this year - up from last year's 10,566 units.

These units will come from the slew of launches planned by developers on sites that they have acquired through state land tenders and private-sector collective sales.

According to ZACD Group, there are potentially slightly more than 20 private housing projects totalling 12,500 units that could go on the market in 2018.

Analysts say that on the demand side, against a backdrop of firm economic conditions buyers are expected to feel sanguine, though their enthusiasm may be tempered by the rising interest-rate environment. JLL national director Ong Teck Hui said: "It's a bit hard to read developers' strategies as to whether they will go full steam ahead with launching projects or pace their launches to try and ride on the price recovery." Agreeing, a seasoned developer said: "Many of the launches coming up are on sites that were acquired earlier at relatively cheaper prices.

Land prices have since escalated and these developers are wondering to what extent they should push up their launch prices.

"We are going a bit into untested territory. If we raise prices too high, buyers may recoil if their affordability is hampered. Once a launch is unsuccessful, it can be very hard to recreate the hype and recover the lost opportunity."

An industry player told BT: "As a developer, you would want to take advantage of a price recovery but on the other hand, the supply is building up, especially if en bloc sales continue to be strong in 2018.

"This would result in a very big launch pipeline in 2019 and the worry is whether home-buying demand is going to match that - and how prices will fare."

Developers sold 522 private homes in January, up 37 per cent from the 382 units sold a year ago and 21 per cent more than the 431 units moved in December. Last month's figure is the best January sales volume since January 2014, when 572 units were sold.

Analysts generally termed the January sales as "healthy", especially given that no new projects were launched last month among those that remain licensed.

In addition, developers sold 100 executive condominium (EC) units - a public-private housing hybrid - in January, same as the previous month but a 45.7 per cent year-on-year drop. But no alarm bells have been set off, as the decline was "due not to faltering demand but a dwindling unsold EC inventory", as Cushman & Wakefield research director Christine Li put it.

The above figures were released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday based on its surveys of licensed housing developers. These figures do not include developers' sales in delicensed projects - such as City Developments' New Futura condo in Leonie Hill Road. To date, it has sold about 40 of the 64 units it launched last month in the 124-unit completed freehold project. The average price is over S$3,200 psf.

As for the licensed projects that URA surveys, last month's top seller was EL Development's Symphony Suites in Yishun with 65 units sold at a median price of S$1,085 per square foot.

In the EC segment, the best seller was Parc Life in Sembawang Crescent, with 25 units sold at S$824 psf median price.

The stock of launched but unsold EC units has shrunk to just 296 units as at end-January 2018.

The sole EC project that will go on the market this year is the 628-unit Rivercove Residences in Sengkang. It is likely to be launched in April. There are no more EC projects in the pipeline, until the government sells more EC sites.

Last year, developers sold 4,011 EC units. This year, the figure could be just 800-900 units given the dearth of supply, says ERA Realty Network's key executive officer Eugene Lim.