Singapore's new private home sales fall 64% in June on lack of launches
SINGAPORE: New private home sales in Singapore fell 64 per cent in June from a month earlier, largely due to the lack of launches.
Excluding executive condominiums (ECs), developers sold 488 units last month, down from 1,355 units in May, according to the figures released on Friday (Jul 15) by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
This is the lowest number of sales since May 2020 when developers sold 487 units, noted Ms Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie. Singapore was in the midst of a COVID-19 "circuit breaker" then.
Including ECs, sales in June dipped 63.9 per cent compared to the previous month.
On a year-on-year basis, new sales, excluding ECs, fell 44 per cent from the 872 units sold in June last year.
The Core Central Region led new home sales with 206 units sold, followed by Rest of Central Region with 171 units and Outside Central Region with 111 units.
NO NEW PROJECT LAUNCHES
Property analysts said that the lower sales figure was expected given that there were no new project launches in June.
"The lacklustre market for new private homes in June 2022 is expected, as it was the school holidays and pointless for new projects to be launched," said Mr Ong Teck Hui, senior director of research & consultancy at JLL.
Apart from the June holiday lull, Ms Sun said some potential buyers may be holding back due to rising interest rates and global economic uncertainties.
"Given the recent interest rate hikes, some buyers may have taken a temporary backseat to reassess their budgets or housing affordability," she said.
"Others may be waiting for more project launches over the next few months, especially since new projects will be launched in the suburban areas where new home supply is most lacking."
However, Colliers' Catherine He said despite the lack of launches and macroeconomic uncertainties, sales in June continued to "defy the odds"
"Sales were well distributed across existing launches, such as Riviere, with 25 units sold and Normanton Park, with 21 units sold. Notably, it was reported that Normanton Park was sold out this quarter, reflecting the strong demand for new homes," said Ms He, director of head and research.
SALES LIKELY TO PICK UP IN JULY
Looking ahead, new sales are expected to rise in July on the back of suburban launches such as AMO Residence at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 (372 units) and Lentor Modern at Lentor Central (605 units), said Ms Tricia Song, CBRE's head of research, Southeast Asia.
"The projects mentioned are expected to see steady interest from upgraders and first-time home buyers who are largely unaffected by the recent round of cooling measures," she added.
Huttons Asia's senior director for research Lee Sze Teck expects sales in July to increase to around 700 to 800 units, citing the launch of AMO Residence.
"This is the first major non-landed project launch in the OCR in 2022 and the first in Ang Mo Kio in eight years," he noted, adding that projects in the Outside Central Region will likely drive sales in the next few months.
