New private home sales in Singapore fell
45% in May from April as developers launched fewer units.
Data from the Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday (Jun 15) showed developers sold 638
housing units last month - well below the revised figure of 1,167 units for
April. The number of units sold in May was, however, higher than the monthly
figures for January to March.
The bulk of homes sold last
month were in the Outside Central Region, which accounted for 469 of the total.
Developers launched just 499
new units in May, down from April's 1,382 units.
Including executive
condominiums (ECs), sales by developers fell to 845 units in May from 1,293
units in April.
May is typically a month with
several property launches, as developers make use of the window before the June
holidays and the lunar seventh month, to put projects up for sale.
But there were no new
launches in May this year, with developers spreading out their projects in the
slow housing market. Market watchers said they are also focusing on
clearing stock.
Said Mr Ku Swee Yong, CEO of
Century 21 Singapore: "I think over the last one year, we have
accumulated quite a lot of surpluses and the total number of units launched but
unsold is at about 7,000. So developers are hoping to clear off some of the
stock on the shelves before they take out new products to launch.
Dr Lee Nai Jia, head of
research (Singapore )
at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, noted: "We have seen quite a number of
launches prior to May, for instance North Park Residences, Sims
Urban Oasis. And although their take-up rate is very high, you see that
they actually still have quite a number of units that have yet not been
launched into the market. "I think developers generally are very mindful
of what is available in the market. They probably want to pace (their launches)
to avoid a glut in the market."
Big project launches in the
past few months include the 1,024-unit Sims Urban Oasis, which had only put
up 300 units for sale so far. The 920-unit North Park Residences and 797-unit Botanique
at Bartley, both launched in April, have more than 300 units left to
launch each.
The only new launch outside
of the private housing market in May was Westwood Residences, an EC. It sold
118 units over two days when it opened for booking on May 30.
Excluding ECs,
recently-launched Botanique at Bartley was the top seller in May. It sold 94
units at a median price of $1,292psf.
The 920-unit North
Park Residences in Yishun, which was launched in April, took the second
spot - moving 59 units at a slightly higher median price of $1,397psf.
Ang Mo Kio project The
Panorama - which was launched in January 2014 - also saw renewed
interest last month. Developers of the 698-unit project sold another 44
units in May, adding to the 222 sold before May.
Looking ahead, analysts said
the private residential market is likely to remain slow in June. It is the
school holidays, and there have been no new project launches so far.
But there could be greater
activity in the EC market, with developers of three new EC projects expected to
launch some units for sale soon.
Analysts also said developers
may be keeping their projects for the second half of the year, to ride on
events which may boost market sentiments, such as Singapore's 50th birthday
celebrations.
Source: CNA
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