For the second month in a row, new private house sales fell by double digits as several developers postponed new openings in the wake of a significant increase in Covid-19 community cases and stringent visitation restrictions.
According to statistics published on Friday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the number of units transferred plummeted 31% to 834 in September from 1,216 in August, while sales decreased 37% from 1,329 units moved a year earlier.
Last month, just 210 new houses were listed for sale, down 75% from 836 in September and a whopping 84% from 1,340 a year earlier. Over half of the apartments on the market came from Bartley Vue, a single new project on the city periphery area that released 115 units.
Except for Parc Greenwich EC, which sold 335 of its 496 units at a median price of $1,229 per square foot, there were no significant new launches in the suburbs or outside the core region (OCR).
According to PropNex Realty chief executive Ismail Gafoor, five of the best selling condos last month were established developments in the suburbs, with another five in the city periphery and prime district, indicating a rising interest in houses in the core region.
“With forthcoming new condo launches at Canninghill Piers, Perfect Ten, and Jervois Mansion, sales in the (city periphery and premium area) should continue to rise up. Investors and international buyers are more likely to purchase homes in the central area. Sales could increase up somewhat towards the end of the year as border limitations and safe management constraints are gradually eased “he said
Meanwhile, according to Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at real estate company OrangeTee & Tie, sales of new private houses in the suburbs that sold for at least $2 million reached record highs in the first nine months of this year.
She used URA Realis caveat statistics to say that 583 non-landed properties were sold for more over $2 million apiece. These sales came from 24 condominiums in the suburbs, with Parc Clematis accounting for the most, with 161 units sold.
New home sales, including executive condos (ECs), dropped 2% to 1,296 units this month, down from 1,323 in August. Sales were down 6.4 percent from the previous year.
Ms Sun, on the other hand, saw that the EC market is beginning to hit new price highs.
This month, a 160 square metre Executive Condo unit at OLA sold for $2.102 million, or $1,221 psf, shattering the previous record of $2.076 million set at the same property in July.
This year, seven new ECs were sold for more over $2 million, compared to only one at OLA last year and another at Citylife@ Tampines for $2.05 million in 2013.
A new high was set for the number of ECs sold for at least $1.5 million. According to Ms Sun, 281 new ECs sold for at least $1.5 million apiece in the first 9 months of this year from projects such as Parc Central Residences, Provence Residence, Piermont Grand, Parc Greenwich, and OLA.
