Private home sales slow down in May (15 Jun 2011)

Private home sales slow down in May
By Travis Teo & Jo-ann Huang | Posted: 15 June 2011 1427 hrs

SINGAPORE: Private home sales slowed 12.7 per cent on-month to 1,575 units in May.

In April, 1,805 units were sold.

Including Executive Condominiums (ECs), total sales in May would have reached 1,825.

The data were released on Wednesday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Developers slowed down their launches in May, as they await potential changes to housing policies post-general election.

That's according to analysts, who say the number of units launched fell by 41 percent on-month to 1,125.

Properties which were launched in May were mainly in the suburbs or the outside central region, like the Foresque at Petir Road in Bukit Panjang and Eight Courtyards in Yishun.

The suburban region saw the most sales, with 945 units, while the city fringe region saw 458 units sold. The central region saw the least sales, with only 172 units sold.

Islandwide, the take-up rates for private home sales were at 130 percent, as buyers snapped up previously launched units.

But analysts said sales for June may dip due to the lull school-holiday period.

Home buyers may also adopt a wait-and-see approach, now that plans to build about 4,000 HDB flats in the outside central region or OCR will add more choices.

Jones Lang LaSalle's head of research (Southeast Asia), Dr Chua Yang Liang, said: "There is a chance that some of these marginal or fringe buyers, typically those in the mass market or HDB upgraders, may choose to move back to public housing especially on a price-point basis."

International Property Advisor's CEO, Ku Swee Yong, said: "Buyers in June would be a bit more circumspect. They would want to wait and see where the new HDB flats may be coming in. And with most of the government reserve land available in the outskirts of Singapore, I see that there may be a bit more of competitive pressure for private residential units in the outskirts of Singapore."

Analysts forecast home sales to hit about 900 to 1,200 units in June.

Chalking up the best sales in May was Terrasse at Terrasse Lane, which sold 184 units at a median price of S$994 per square foot.

The best selling EC was Belysa at Pasir Ris Drive 1, which sold 162 units at a median price of S$691 per square foot.

The most expensive property sold in May was The Marq on Paterson Hill - a luxury property in the city centre - where a unit was sold at a median price of S$5,842 per square foot.

The lowest transacted price was at S$486 per square foot for a city fringe landed property called The Hiloft.

- CNA/cc/ir

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