Ravi Chandran
New home sales spike happened in March as developers marketed more projects after the Lunar New Year holidays in February. The 15-days of Lunar New Year celebrations typically augurs in slower sales.
The data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed that the new home sales spike happened after developers sold 1,054 units last month, more than double the 455 in February. URA’s statistics showed that new home prices decreased for a second straight quarter in the three months ended March 31 after the government added cooling measures in July, helping to buoy demand.
https://www.icompareloan.com/resources/new-private-home-sales/
Commenting on the new home sales spike, CBRE said:
“In March 2019, 1,812 units were launched and 1,054 units were sold. This brings the total number of launched and sold units in the first quarter of 2019 to 3,089 and 1,946 units, respectively. In comparison, over the same period last year when market sentiments were healthier, 1,581 units were sold, outstripping the 1,068 units launched.”
CBRE believes the the new home sales spike clearly shows that demand for mass market projects remain driven by quantum.
“Mass market projects dominated the 10 new launches in March, led by two major projects Treasure at Tampines (289 units sold, 59.0% take-up) and Florence Residences (77 units sold, 38.5% take-up). Palatable price quantums were a key draw; 91.8% of units at these two projects were sold at less than S$1.5 million while 98.1% were sold at less than $2 million.
In the CCR, the allure of reputable developers provided the quality assurance that most buyers seek for their prime residential investment. Prices in the CCR were propped up by Boulevard 88 which did well with 26 units sold (74.3% take-up) at a median price of S$3,613 psf.
In the EC segment, 8 units were sold, out of which 5 were from Northwave in Woodlands. All eyes will be on the next highly anticipated EC launch at Sumang Walk, which is likely to be launched soon.
CBRE believes that after the new home sales spike, developers may slow down launches to give the market a breather to allow inventory to clear from existing launches.
“Launch pipelines could also ease going forward as the major projects (> 1,000 units) have already been launched. On the demand side, buyers may adopt a “wait-and-see” stance, in anticipation of prices declining in the coming quarters.”
https://www.icompareloan.com/resources/private-home-price-2/
Colliers International commented on the new home sales spike saying:
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“As expected, developers’ sales spiked in March 2019 amid 10 new launches, including two mega projects such as The Florence Residences and Treasure at Tampines. The two projects alone accounted for over a third of the total new private home sales last month.
Data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday (15 April) showed that developers sold 1,054 new units, excluding Executive Condos (ECs), last month – more than doubled the 455 units sold in February and up 47.2% year-on-year from the 716 units transacted in March 2018.
The increase in sales was again supply-led as developers placed 1,812 new units on the market. This was the highest number of units launched since 2,239 units were rolled out by developers in July 2018.
Apart from The Florence Residences and Treasure at Tampines which are in the Outside Central Region (OCR), other new projects launched in March included: Boulevard 88 and 35 Gilstead in the Core Central Region (CCR), Nyon, One Meyer, Residence Twenty-Two, Rezi 24 and 1953 in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and The Essence in the OCR. Together, these new launches contributed to 41.6% of the total developers’ sales last month.
10 new launches in March 2019
| Project Name | Street Name | Locality | Total No. of Units in Project | Units Launched in the Month | Units Sold in the Month | Median Price ($psf) in the Month | Units sold as % of launched |
| 1953 | Tessensohn Road | RCR | 58 | 58 | 18 | 1,866 | 31% |
| 35 Gilstead | Gilstead Road | CCR | 70 | 35 | 3 | 2,549 | 9% |
| Boulevard 88 | Orchard Boulevard | CCR | 154 | 35 | 26 | 3,613 | 74% |
| Nyon | Amber Road | RCR | 92 | 92 | 4 | 2,434 | 4% |
| One Meyer | Meyer Place | RCR | 66 | 66 | 10 | 2,669 | 15% |
| Residence Twenty-Two | Telok Kurau Road | OCR | 22 | 22 | 1 | 1,632 | 5% |
| Rezi 24 | Lorong 24 Geylang | RCR | 110 | 110 | 4 | 1,482 | 4% |
| The Essence | Chong Kuo Road | OCR | 84 | 84 | 6 | 1,309 | 7% |
| The Florence Residences | Hougang Avenue 2 | OCR | 1,410 | 200 | 77 | 1,434 | 39% |
| Treasure At Tampines | Tampines Lane | OCR | 2,203 | 490 | 289 | 1,335 | 59% |
| 4,269 | 1,192 | 438 | 37% |
Source: Colliers International, URA
Star performers in March included: Treasure at Tampines which moved 289 units at a median price of SGD1,335 per square foot (psf); The Tre Ver which sold 131 units at a median price of SGD1,602 psf; The Florence Residences which shifted 77 units at a median price of SGD 1,434 psf; and Parc Botannia and Riverfront Residences which each sold 55 units at a median price of SGD1,303 psf and SGD1,334 psf, respectively.
Top 10 Selling Projects in March 2019
| Project Name | Street Name | Locality | Units Sold in the Month | Median Price ($psf) in the Month | % sold to date of total |
| Treasure At Tampines | Tampines Lane | OCR | 289 | 1,335 | 13% |
| The Tre Ver | Potong Pasir Avenue 1 | RCR | 131 | 1,602 | 60% |
| The Florence Residences | Hougang Avenue 2 | OCR | 77 | 1,434 | 5% |
| Parc Botannia | Fernvale Street | OCR | 55 | 1,303 | 73% |
| Riverfront Residences | Hougang Avenue 7 | OCR | 55 | 1,334 | 64% |
| Affinity At Serangoon | Serangoon North Avenue 1 | OCR | 50 | 1,506 | 46% |
| Stirling Residences | Stirling Road | RCR | 45 | 1,772 | 47% |
| Parc Esta | Sims Avenue | RCR | 36 | 1,711 | 35% |
| The Tapestry | Tampines Street 86 | OCR | 30 | 1,318 | 71% |
| The Garden Residences | Serangoon North View | OCR | 29 | 1,545 | 20% |
Source: Colliers International, URA
March 2019’s overall takeup rate (Number of units sold divided by the number of units launched during the month) of 58% was, however, the lowest since November 2014 (during which 423 was sold out of 863 units launched).
Meanwhile, the takeup rate for new launches was 37% and performance across the 10 new launches was mixed.
- The Florence Residence sold 77 or 39% out of the 200 units launched, and just 5% of the total 1,410 units available. The less-than-ideal launch takeup could be due to the competitive supply situation in the Hougang/ Upper Serangoon area, where a few major projects such as Affinity at Serangoon, Riverfront Residences, The Garden Residences with a total 3,137 available units had been launched since July 2018 and had soaked up pent-up demand.
- Treasure at Tampines, the largest condo project in Singapore, sold 289 or 59% of the 490 units launched or 13% of the total 2,203 units available.
- On the other hand, luxury project Boulevard 88 sold 26 or 74% out of 35 units launched, or 17% of the total 154 units available. This is a creditable performance, given the median price achieved of SGD3,613 psf or an average quantum of SGD8.9 million per unit, reflecting the resilient demand for luxury homes, despite the cooling measures.
Despite the ample supply of new launches, buyers continued to dip into previously launched projects – in particular, The Tre Ver which sold 131 units in March, higher than the 48 units sold in February. The uptick could be due to potential buyers who were deflected from nearby Park Colonial which is now 72% sold and has started to raise selling prices. We note Park Colonial’s median price has risen to SGD1,828 psf in March 2019, from SGD1,756 psf during its launch in July 2018.
Parc Botannia, Riverfront Residences and The Tapestry continued to sell progressively as they are the most affordable in the market at SGD1,303-1,334 psf. Affinity at Serangoon and The Garden Residences saw continued interest, riding on the Cross Island Line announcements in January 2019.”
Ms Tricia Song, Colliers International’s Head of Research for Singapore, said March’s sales brought total new private home sales for Q1 2019 to 1,946 units – up by 23% from 1,581 units sold in the corresponding period in 2018.
She said: “Colliers Research expects takeup to remain relatively healthy in the coming months as more projects could potentially be launched. These include: Avenue South Residences (1,076 units), Amber Park (592 units), The Gazania (250 units) and The Lillium (80 units).”
And added: “For the whole of 2019, Colliers Research estimates that 9,000 new residential units could be sold, up slightly from the 8,795 units in 2018, on attractive launches line-up tempered by cautious buying sentiment post-cooling measures.”
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