Developer sales jumped in July

The private housing market regained some momentum last month as buyers snapped up units amid a larger number of new units launched, following a lull in June when buyers held off buying and developers held back new offerings to avoid the school holidays. Sales jumped more than 300 per cent from June, as developers sold a total of 1,594 units, up from 375 sold in the previous month. The number of units launched in July was also higher, at 1,468, compared to 219 in June (excluding ECs)

“The surge in primary home sales in July was largely in response to the sensitive pricing of the only major launch in the month – High Park Residences, which reignited buying interest and accounted for more than 73 per cent of the total number of units sold; the other sales seem to spread across many other past projects,” continued Mr Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, “another possibility can also be due to the return of buyers after the June school holidays and possibly some buyers speeding up their decisions to avoid buying during the Hungry Ghosts Month”.

Mr Ismail notes that there are still several issues plaguing the private residential market namely; anticipated rise in interest rates, the mounting supply of homes amid the on-going implementation of stringent measures and strict loan curbs continued to weigh on buying sentiments. Lastly, there is an inertia to commitment as buyers remain on the sidelines whilst anticipating 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.

Source: URA, PropNex research

OCR region most active

Outside Central Region (OCR) accounted for the bulk of private home sales in June with 1,464 units sold (or 91.8 per cent) with the balance attributed to Rest of Central Region – which sold 69 units (RCR) (or 4.3 per cent) and Core Central Region which sold 61 units (CCR) (or 3.9 per cent).

Source: URA, PropNex research

High Park Residences - the chart-topping project in June

The 5 top-selling projects were:

Source: URA, PropNex research

Homebuyers expected to continue exercising heightened prudence

With the presence of price resistance, prices for upcoming new projects will remain competitive as there will be added pressure for developers to price their projects reasonably.

While selected projects which are reasonably priced and well located will continue to attract homebuyers, prices are expected to come under some pressure as the potential pool of buyers shrink and developers face stronger competition. Against this backdrop, attractive pricing and location remain key drivers in helping developers move units

With no changes to the government curbs on the horizon in 2015, the private residential market is expected to remain soft. We expect new private home sales volume to be about 8,000 to 9,000 units. Transaction volume will continue to be launch-driven; largely dependent on the price and location of the project.

After July’s strong sales, PropNex expects a slowdown again this month due to the August Hungry Ghost Month. We will still see a mix of good and poor take-up rates in upcoming projects. However, we could see healthy monthly sales in the future if more projects are priced realistically at levels that would draw in buyers.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Carolyn Goh
Senior Manager
Corporate Communications and Marketing
P & N Holdings Pte Ltd (holding company of PropNex Realty)
480 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #10-01 HDB Hub East Wing Singapore 310480
DID : (65) 6829 6748 / 98287834 | Main : (65) 6820 8000 | Fax : (65) 6829 6600
www.PropNex.com

Algene Hong
Senior Executive
Corprate Communications
PropNex Realty
480 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #10-01 HDB Hub East Wing Singapore 310480
DID : (65) 6829 6746 | Main : (65) 6820 8000
Fax : (65) 6829 6600
www.PropNex.com