Month-on-month, the number of new homes launched took a 54% plunge while the number of new homes transacted inched upwards by 3.5%.
Analysts project overall private residential prices to increase by up to 3% this year, considering the new cooling measures and probable interest rate hikes. Sales of new private homes could reach 9,000 to 10,000 units in 2022, amid fewer launches in the pipeline.
New private home sales were stable in January despite fewer launches during the month, the seasonal lull leading up to the Lunar New Year, as well as fresh property curbs having been introduced in December. Developers in Singapore sold 673 new private homes in January, inching upwards by 3.5% from 650 in December.
Including executive condominiums (ECs), sales reached 725, 0.8% higher than that of December 2021.
Year-on-year, last month’s new home sales is 58.8% lower than the 1,633 units sold in January 2021, where the volume was boosted by a number of mega launches. In contrast, the number of units launched for sale in January 2022 is the lowest since February 2021’s 167 units.
A total of 178 units were launched last month, of which 127 were in the outside of central region (OCR), 29 units in the rest of central region (RCR) and 22 units in the core central region (CCR).
New projects launched include Belgravia Ace, which put 85 of its 107 strata landed housing units up for sale, and Ikigai with 16 boutique units.
Belgravia Ace moved 77 homes during the month at an average price of $4.4 million or $1,080psf. It is the second best-selling project in January after Normanton Park, where 94 units were sold at a median price of $1,841psf.
Analysts pointed out that projects with attractive selling points and a good location will still command strong sales as there remains many homebuyers purchasing for their own occupancy. Furthermore, the stock of landed properties in Singapore has stagnated at over 73,000 units in the last four years and is not expected to grow substantially in future. Landed homes in Singapore have been one of the top-performing asset classes in the real estate market, surpassing sales performances over the last decade.
January’s performance suggests that demand for new private homes has not been severely hit by the new cooling measures. While sales volumes dipped after the two cooling measures in 2013 and 2018, sales volume rose 3.5% from 650 units in December 2021 to 673 units in January 2022, after the latest cooling measure introduced in December. Analysts are of the view that the majority of buyers in 2022 will comprise new families and owner-occupiers looking to upgrade or right-size. These households who own only 1 property at any one time will generally be unaffected by the ABSD revisions.
New home sales in February 2022 are likely to regain momentum after the Chinese New Year period. Analysts are expecting new home sales to trend down from 13,000+ units recorded in 2021, to 9,000-10,000 units, while prices could increase by up to 3% in 2022. Analysts further noted that prices are likely to remain resilient in light of our strong economic fundamentals, a record low unsold inventory (14,333 units as of Q4 2021) and high occupancies.
To find out more on the top 5 new launches (Jan 2022):
“Touching Lives, Connecting People Through Real Estate.”
PAULINE CHUA
Senior Marketing Director
ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd
Mobile: 8692 7272
Website: www.paulinechua.com