GuocoLand-Hong Leong Lentor JV Leads Singapore Home Sales Rebound in March

New private home sales in Singapore climbed 46 percent year-on-year to 718 units in March, snapping two months of decline as a new project by GuocoLand and Hong Leong Holdings accounted for nearly 57 percent of the monthly total.

Lentor Mansion, launched by the GuocoLand-Hong Leong JV on 15 March, sold 409 units during the month to nearly equal the 447 new private homes sold in Singapore during January and February combined, according to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

In a statement on the latest sales of private homes, excluding the hybrid public-private executive condo segment, Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, observed that new home sales volumes in Singapore are directly related to new project launches, with developers releasing four developments with 877 units last month, compared to 45 homes rolled out in February.

“Looking at the new projects put on the market so far this year, Lentor Mansion is the largest development with a total of 533 units,” Wong said. “The greater availability of units at Lentor Mansion, its attractive price quantum, convenient location, and efficient layout of units are factors that have drawn buyers in.”

First Quarter Tally Dips

Last month’s home sales tally exceeded the 492 units transacted in March 2023 and outstripped  the combined total of 457 homes sold during January and February by nearly 47 percent, according to the latest URA data.

Despite March home sales representing the highest volume since November, the 1,175 units sold during the first quarter came in 6 percent below the 1,256 transactions recorded in the first three months of 2023.

Sales slid despite developers launching 1,339 units for sale during the quarter, which was up 2 percent from a year ago, indicating homebuyers are taking their time and are spending more cautiously as market uncertainties persist, according to Chia Siew Chuin, head of residential research at JLL.

Declining sales have tempered home prices across the city-state with preliminary data from the URA showing private home price growth slowing to 1.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter from a 2.8 percent rise in the preceding three months.

Lentor Leads Again

Located in a new estate near the Lentor MRT station, 214 of the 400 units sold at Lentor Mansion on launch weekend were two-bedroom units, representing the smallest price point in the complex. With half of the two-bedroom homes in the development measuring just 527 square feet, they offer the smallest multi-bedroom dwellings made available in the suburban Lentor Hills Estate to date.

By squeezing more doors into less space, GuocoLand and Hong Leong fetched an average of S$2,269 per square foot of built space for their fourth joint project in Lentor Hills.

Launched earlier in March, the 267-unit Lentoria joint development between GuocoLand, Hong Leong and Mitsui Fudosan, ranked as the second most popular project last month, selling 60 units at a median price of S$2,129 per square foot of built area.

The two other launches last month were a pair of boutique projects which sold more slowly. The Ardor Residence luxury condominium on the east coast found a buyer for only one of its 35 units, while Koon Seng House in Geylang transacted just two homes.

Sales Outlook Dims

Despite the March surge, take-up of new major condo projects has been trending downwards over the past year, according to industry analysts, as government cooling measures and higher interest rates dampen buyer demand.

Data compiled by JLL analysing projects of 100 units or more shows that launches in the first quarter had an average take-up rate of 40 percent within their first month on the market, which was down from the 47 percent average for projects launched during the first three months of 2023.

“Prospective homebuyers have turned more cautious due to multiple rounds of market cooling measures, softer economic conditions, and high financing costs,” said JLL’s Chia. “Increased options and prices have made homebuyers more selective and price-conscious, resulting in slower sales take-up as they take longer to make homebuying decisions.”

With only three small to medium-sized projects hitting the market in April, including the 14-unit 32 Gilstead luxury condo in District 11 which launched for sale on Monday, PropNex’s Wong expects home sales to underperform this month. The other two projects set to begin sales this month are the 142-unit The Hill @ One-North and the 59-unit The Hillshore, both in District 5, which are slated to hit the market on 20 April.

“In the near term, downbeat macroeconomic conditions, cooling measures and elevated interest rates are likely to continue weighing on the private residential market but sentiment could improve in H2 2024 if interest rates ease and the economy recovers,” said Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia.

CBRE predicts that home prices will rise between 3 and 4 percent for the full year of 2024, slowing from 6.8 percent growth in 2023 and the 8.6 percent surge recorded in 2022.