Rebound in new home sales 'shows underlying demand'

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http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...emand-20131217

Rebound in new home sales 'shows underlying demand'

Published on Dec 17, 2013

By Cheryl Ong


NEW homes sales here have rebounded after a one-month dip, in what property experts say is a sign of strong underlying demand and attractive pricing.

Home seekers snapped up 1,228 new units last month, according to figures released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday.

This was 15 per cent more than October's 1,070 units, which was 14 per cent lower than the 1,246 units moved in September.

The figures exclude executive condominiums, a hybrid of public and private housing.

Experts say the increase was largely driven by "rightly priced" new launches in the city centre and city fringe areas.

The bulk of the 662 units sold in the city centre were from Duo Residences, which sold 600 units. The development recorded strong sales as its units were competitively priced compared with other homes in the area, said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail.

Units at Duo Residences were sold at a median price of $1,999 per sq ft (psf) - an attractive deal for an integrated project off Beach Road, said Ms Chia Siew Chuin, Colliers International director of research and advisory.

OrangeTee research head Christine Li said this shows that buyers are becoming more cost-conscious when buying properties.

"This could imply that there is demand in the market, and investors are simply biding their time waiting for a good deal," she said.

Elsewhere in the city centre, the 181-unit Clermont Residence was launched, moving 13 units last month.

This drove sales in the city centre up to 54 per cent of last month's total tally, outstripping sales in the city fringe and suburbs. Ms Chia said this was the highest proportion of units sold in the city centre since November 2009, when it hit 60 per cent.

Homes on the city fringe comprised 29 per cent of total transactions. The top-selling project was SingLand's 429-unit Alex Residences in Alexandra Road, which moved 171 units at a median price of $1,706 psf. Chiu Teng's The Creek @ Bukit in Toh Tuck Road came in next, registering 47 sales at a median price of $1,637 psf.

Buyers also snapped up units at previously launched projects like CapitaLand's 694-unit Sky Vue, which sold 31 units last month.

About 17 per cent of new homes sold were in the suburbs, as only two small projects were launched.

Experts say buyers will stay selective and developers should continue to price new units attractively. They added that new homes sales should slow down this month as the year-end festivities kick in.

"Developers' sales volume is expected to come in at under 1,000 units to close the year," estimated Ms Chia. This should bring the total number of units sold this year to 15,000 to 16,000 units.

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...harge-20131217

Published December 17, 2013

November new home sales show buyers in charge

By ong chor hao [email protected]


[SINGAPORE] Sales figures for new private homes last month underline a new reality in which location and attractive pricing are the main draws for buyers who are becoming more selective, analysts believe.

Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday showed that excluding executive condominiums (ECs), developers moved 1,228 units in November, a 15 per cent increase from the 1,070 in October.

This works out to a take-up rate of 95 per cent for the 1,293 new private homes launched last month, and is comparable to the previous month when 1,124 units was released.

Buyers have turned more cautious following a total debt service ratio (TDSR) framework put in place in late June; developers sold just 481 private homes in July, less than a third of June's 1,806. But consultants believe that last month's tally shows that there is still interest for attractively priced and well-located projects.

Said Christine Li, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee: "This could imply that there is demand in the market, and investors are simply biding their time."

November sales were boosted by strong demand for the Duo Residences in Bugis, where 600 units were sold at a median price of $1,999 per square foot (psf), and Alex Residences at Redhill, where 171 units were moved at a median price of $1,706 psf. The pricing for Duo Residences was seen as particularly attractive by analysts.

Successful developers adjusted prices to match current buyer sentiment, said Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty.

Alan Cheong, head of research at Savills Singapore, said that the November numbers affirm his belief that the TDSR won't cause a "slash and burn" in the market and will merely slow down the rate of sales.

In terms of performance by region, Core Central Region (CCR) saw more homes sold than the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) combined last month. Only two new CCR projects were launched, Duo Residences and Clermont Residence at Tanjong Pagar, but the overall sales of 662 units made up 54 per cent of all transactions.

But Nicholas Mak, executive director for research and consultancy at SLP International, said that this was an "unusual" event unlikely to repeat itself often in the near future, as there are not many projects like Duo Residences in the pipeline.

RCR sales volume was up 29 per cent from October at 352 units, backed by sales at Alex Residences, while OCR transactions fell 70 per cent to 214 homes, primarily on the lack of new launches.

Chia Siew Chuin, director of research and advisory at Colliers International said that homebuyers may be turning to reasonably priced homes in CCR and RCR given the narrowing price gaps between mid-to-high-end homes and mass market homes.

She said that some 73 per cent of new homes sold last month were in the range of $1,500-2,500 psf. "This is a contrast from past trends, where the majority of new homes were transacted at below $1,500 psf."

The lowest selling price on a psf basis in November was for a unit at The Inflora in Tampines sold at $723 psf, while the most expensive unit was one at Twin Peaks in Leonie Hill that transacted at $3,052 psf, SLP's Mr Mak said.

Including ECs, 1,714 new homes were sold last month, 42 per cent higher than the month before. Sky Park Residences in Sembawang and Waterwoods in Punggol were the best sellers for ECs last month.

For the first 11 months of the year, 14,678 new private homes (excluding ECs) were sold. Analysts are expecting total sales for this year to be close to 16,000, a significant dip from the record 22,197 last year.

Desmond Sim, associate director at CBRE Research, believes that prices will see a "marginal rise of around 2 per cent" on the year.

December should be fairly quiet due to the festive season, with sales below 1,000 units, analysts said, and with demand likely to pick up again after Chinese New Year as pending projects hit the market.

"Going forward, pricing is key and developers have to price attractively to move units quickly," said Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Realty.

Projects that may be launched in the first half of next year include Marina One developed by M+S, City Development's South Beach Residences, The Panorama by Wheelock Properties and Keppel Land's project at Kim Tian Road. Sales could be anywhere from 10,000 to 16,000 units next year, with some consultants expecting prices to be flat or marginally lower.