August new private home sales drop 72% m-o-m to 394 units

available for sale in September

According to data released by URA on Sept 15, sales of new homes, excluding Executive Condos (ECs), in August saw a sharp decline of 72.1% month-on-month from 1,412 units in July to 394 units, and a 10% dip from 438 units in August 2022. This comes after fewer new launches in the month, thereby showing that market activity tends to slow down in the Hungry Ghost month due to fewer launches.

Four new private residential projects were launched in August with a total of 590 new homes launched, approximately 73% lower than the 2,156 units released last month. Included in these four projects are the 78-unit Orchard Sophia in the Core Central Region (CCR); the 324-unit TMW Maxwell in the Rest of Central Region (RCR); and the 306-unit The Lakegarden Residences and the 105-unit The Arden in the Outside Central Region (OCR).

Of the four new projects launched, none achieved take-up rates that were higher than the 31% sold the Orchard Sophia at a median price of $2,808 psf, according to Tricia Song, CBRE head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia. This is a significant contrast to the performance of the new launches in July, which saw take-up rates of between 29%-56%.

Lumina Grand Bukit Batok is just a few steps away from the JRL and offers its residents excellent access to the MRT station. Moreover, numerous bus routes which connect to various places such as Jurong, Bukit Batok, Bukit Timah, Clementi and other parts of the island can be found in the area.

Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, attributes the lower sales to a softened buyer sentiment, noting that affordability has been an increasing concern with the escalation of interest rates in the past year, and economic uncertainty. The same period, however, saw strong demand for EC projects with the 360-unit Altura EC in Bukit Batok launching in August, with 63% of the units (225 units) sold at a median price of $1,480 psf.

Outside the CCR, the OCR recorded the highest number of new home sales with 192 units, accounting for 49% of total developer sales. While this is underscored by the new launches in the OCR, m-o-m sales in the OCR saw a drop of 61%. The RCR developer sales were down 87% m-o-m with 106 new homes sold.

The proportion of non-landed new private home sales (excluding ECs) by nationality/residential status over the past year showed a limited number of purchases by foreigners at 12 units, corresponding to 3% of the total sales in August. Singaporeans accounted for 80% of the purchases, while Singapore PRs accounted for 17%.

With the August data, cumulative new home sales in 2023 come to 5,189 units, 5.6% lower than the 5,496 units sold over the same period in 2022. CBRE’s Song believes that the pent-up demand among homebuyers has been “mostly absorbed”, while prices have increased significantly, leaving investors limited room for upside.

New home sales in September are expected to stay muted due to the lunar seventh month that straddles both August and September. However, transactions should pick up in October and November with some new projects hitting the market such as Hillock Green in Lentor Central, and J’Den, a redevelopment of the former JCube in Jurong East.

Knight Frank’s Tay predicts that new home sales are still on track to hit between 7,000 to 8,000 units, which aligns with projections by Hutton Asia. With up to ten new launches in the pipeline from October 2023, developer sales could end the year between 7,000 and 8,000 units.

Altura, The Lakegarden Residences, Orchard Sophia, Tmw Maxwell, The Arden; Condominium properties available for sale in September – be sure to check out the latest listings!