Property unit sales dip in Q3

Property unit sales dip in Q3
By Ryan Huang | Posted: 23 September 2010 1427 hrs

SINGAPORE: The number of property units sold in the third quarter has continued to fall from the previous quarter.

According to CB Richard Ellis, some 3,300 to 3,500 new property units were sold in the three months to September.

This is lower than the 4,033 and 4,380 units sold in the second and first quarters respectively.

CBRE said residential market activity in the third quarter moved at a steady pace until it hit a snag in September when the government introduced its latest set of property cooling measures.

It said it believed market sentiment was dampened and sales activity slowed down as industry players took time to digest the implications of the measures.

In the third quarter, projects in popular locations and those with small-format units continued to be the star-performers.

Those fully sold included 368 Thomson (157 units), The Scala (468 units), Terrene (172 units) and small- format projects Haig 162 (99 units) and Dorsett Residences (68 units).

Suburban 99-year leasehold condominiums, The Greenwich at Seletar Road and NV Residences at Pasir Ris Grove, set new price benchmarks of S$1,095 psf and S$830 psf in their respective locations.

During the quarter, developers acquired more than 10 sites from the private sector.

The more prominent deals included the purchase of Goodrich Park for S$86.0 million or S$629 psf/plot ratio, and Meng Gardens, a prime site in district 9, for S$137.0 million or $1,380 psf/plot ratio.

A total of six residential sites and one commercial-residential site were bought from the government.

This included the purchase by Far East Organisation of a 444,136-square foot site at Jalan Eunos for S$257.8 million or $415 psf/plot ratio.

CBRE said developers would continue to look for development sites but would likely be less bullish in their bids.

It expects the residential market to mellow in the fourth quarter of 2010.

New property unit sales volume in the fourth quarter is expected to be lower, at around 2,000 units.

New projects that are primed for launch include Vacanza @ East and two executive condominiums, Esparina Residences and The Canopy.

-CNA/wk