Singapore Home Sales Climb 2.2% After May Plunge as Buyers Weigh Options

New private home sales in Singapore crept up 2.2 percent in June from May’s low base, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday.

Excluding executive condos, developers sold 228 new homes in June after moving just 223 units the previous month. On a year-on-year basis, home sales excluding ECs fell 18 percent from 278 units in June 2023.

Monthly new sales averaged 321 units from January to June, down from 616 during all of 2022 and 556 last year, said Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore. The six-month total of 1,916 units sold was down 43 percent compared with the year-earlier period.

“The market remained in a quiet phase throughout Q2 2024,” Tay said. “With more options on the market, homebuyers have become more selective and measured. Sales volume is likely to remain subdued until such time when interest rates come down.”

Existing Projects Carry Load

With no new projects launched in June, developers released 118 units for sale at existing developments Lakegarden Residences, Tembusu Grand, Pollen Collection and Watten House.

The suburban Outside Central Region generated the most sales in June, accounting for 58 percent of the month’s islandwide total as developers shifted 132 new units, PropNex Realty said in a release.

Among the top-selling OCR projects, Wing Tai Holdings’ Lakegarden Residences in Jurong sold 23 units — leading all Singapore projects during the month — with the homes transacting at a median price of S$2,119 ($1,579) per square foot.

The city-fringe Rest of Central Region saw sales of 71 new units in June, up from 53 the previous month. The most desired RCR project was Tembusu Grand, a joint venture of City Developments Ltd and Hongkong Land’s MCL Land, where buyers snapped up 20 units at a median price of S$2,542 per square foot.

Developer sales in the Core Central Region, a proxy for luxury homebuyers, remained little changed with 25 units selling in June. Low Keng Huat’s Klimt Cairnhill was the best-selling CCR project, with eight units trading at a median price of S$3,335 per square foot.

Limited new launches and the tightening of the additional buyer’s stamp duty measure to curb foreign demand have weighed on the CCR segment, according to PropNex.

On Alert for Surge

Despite the ongoing slump, OrangeTee Group anticipates a surge in market activity with the launch of several large and medium-sized projects in the second half, said Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at the local agency.

“Some notable projects in the pipeline include the 440-unit Sora, which was launched in July, the 847-unit Emerald of Katong, the 366-unit Union Square Residences, the 348-unit Norwood Grand, and The Chuan Park, boasting 916 units,” Sun said. “These projects might lead to an increase in sales during the launched months.”

With the approaching lunar seventh month in mind, the analyst foresees most developers avoiding project launches during the inauspicious period believed to dampen buyer sentiment.

“Consequently, we expect to see a notable increase in project launches during the months of July, early August, and particularly October due to the anticipated pent-up demand for new homes following the one-month gap in project launches,” Sun said.