Developer sales more than doubles in July

The Lake Grande project in Jurong sold 464 units last month at a median price of $1,368 psf. (Photo: Christopher Chitty)

Sales of new private homes, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), more than doubled to 1,091 units in July, up from 536 units sold in the month before, according to data published on Monday (15 August) by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Property analysts said the spike in transactions was due to the higher number of units launched, following a lull in June when buyers held off on purchases and developers delayed their launches to avoid the school holidays.

There were 624 private condo units launched last month, compared to 234 in June.

The bulk of home sales took place in the suburbs, with 825 units sold (76 percent). This was followed by the city fringe, which sold 213 units (19 percent), and the city centre with 53 units sold (five percent).

The top-selling private condominium in the month was Lake Grande in Jurong, which sold 464 units at a median price of $1,368 psf.

Meanwhile, developers sold 830 EC units in July, up significantly from the 232 units sold in the previous month.

The most popular EC project was Treasure Crest in Sengkang, which moved 398 units at a median price of $751 psf.

Despite the improved sales result, Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty, cautioned that there are still issues plaguing the housing market.

“The mounting supply of homes amid the on-going implementation of stringent measures and strict loan curbs continue to weigh on buying sentiments,” he said.

He added that many buyers are choosing to remain on the sidelines as they anticipate further price declines.

“With the odds stacked against developers, they will continue to act with caution – taking a slow and deliberate approach in launching their projects, as well as having a competitive pricing strategy to further entice buyers to commit.”

Ismail expects sales for the rest of the year to hover at around 500 to 700 units per month. For the whole of 2016, PropNex forecasts the sales volume to reach between 7,000 and 8,000 units.

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg