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As Singapore enters into Phase 2 of Circuit Breaker, new home sales up 105% or 998 units sold in the month of June from pent-up demand. May 2020 sold 487 units during lockdown which is pretty good considering all showflat are closed during the lockdown, which means, buyers either had viewed the showflat before or bought without viewing the showflat at all.
This uptick in sales came at a surprise as Singapore is entering its worst recession since independence. This number of 998 excludes executive condo is also the highest number clocked in 7 years for the month of June, indicating resilience in the Singapore property market.
There are a few factors contributing to this uptick in sales despite this recession.
Its a market rotation. Not all sectors are affected by this recession. In fact, some like medical, healthcare, supermarket, e-commerce business all outperform other industries during this circuit breaker lockdown. This lockdown also sees many businesses adopting technology where even hawker food now has a presence in food delivery service like Grab Food, FoodPanda etc.
Businesses in tourism, airline, retail, hotels, entertainment are probably the hardest hit during this lockdown which sees many retail shops closing down and casino cutting manpower.
During this lockdown period, businesses that can streamline and change its nature of business operations by going online and adopting the technology will still continue to do well.
Most of the units transacted at in the range of $1,000 to $2,000psf which the majority may be purchased by employees who are not so affected as they still get this salary though some may have a pay cut. Most of them work from home during this period and still draw their salary.
There’s a total of 3911 units transacted in the first half of 2020.
Top Selling Condos in June 2020
| Project | District | Units Sold in June | Average price ($PSF) | % Sold to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treasure @ Tampines | Tampiens | 104 | 1,348 | 57 |
| Parc Clematis | Clementi | 90 | 1,637 | 52 |
| Florence Residences | Hougang | 89 | 1,522 | 53 |
| Parc Esta | Eunos | 82 | 1,671 | 92 |
| Stirling Residences | Alexandra | 74 | 1,945 | 84 |
| Jadescape | Sin Ming | 56 | 1,738 | 69 |
| The Tapestry | Tampines | 41 | 1,349 | 93 |
| Kent Ridge Hill Residences | Bouna Vista | 37 | 1,784 | 64 |
| Daintree Residence | Upper Bukit Timah | 35 | 1,681 | 43 |
| Avenue South Residence | Outram | 27 | 2,032 | 47 |
Including Executive Condo which sold 33 units, there’s a total of 1,031 units transactions including EC, from figures released by Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Sales are mostly from pre-launch as there are no new launches amidst this circuit breaker. Kopar at Newton was the last development to launch prior to the start of the circuit breaker. Most of the sales are transacted in the city fringe and mass-market areas as home buyers start shopping for good buys on the market as developers throw in some perks discount too.
Mass Market development will be more resilient as quantum and psf are lower and more affordable with high demand from HDB upgraders.
Launches in 2nd Half of 2020
Some developers are holding back their launches amidst the outbreak of covid-19 previously, They might choose to push out their launches to catch this rebound in new home sales wave. Some of the development likely to launch in 2nd half of 2020 include Noma @ Geylang, Clavon at Clementi, Penrose at Sims Drive and Forett at Bukit Timah.
Developers will likely offer more competitive prices to maintain this sales momentum as home buyers are spoilt for choices on the market.
More foreigner and permanent residents are also entering the Singapore market. 15 Holland Hill clock in sales at $7.7m and $15m respectively, while Marina One Residences also saw good take care rate these few months.
Foreigners investing now in Singapore property is likely due to macroeconomic uncertainties amidst Covid-19 breakout in their country as they seek more safe-haven investment.
