New non-landed homes are still hot on the list of home seekers and property investors, local and international, as April’s figures have shown. Sales have remained above the 1,000-unit mark for the second consecutive month and the 1,500 units sold in April alone was double that of the same period last year.
One of the factors contributing to the continuing demand could be the changes in property cooling measures which took place in March this year. Consumer’s confidence have risen considerably thus leading to higher home sales including a larger appetite for units even in older launches. The number of units sold in previously-launched developments remained fairly steady across March and April, with 1,079 and 1,001 sold in the 2 months respectively. Some of the more popular projects included Parc Riviera and Commonwealth Towers.
Suburban properties fared particularly well, with 966 transactions closed in April. 558 units were sold in the city fringes and 30 in the core central region. New launches which were well-received included Seaside Residences in Siglap and Artra in Redhill. The former sold 419 units at an average price of $1,736 psf and the latter, 126 units at a median of $1,646 psf.
There had been previous concerns about the large volume of unsold inventory and with more new units entering, a supply glut might disturb the market slightly. As the supply and rate of new homes diminishes however, there might be a possibility for new homes to be priced higher in the near future. How will this market sector fare as we move on into the mid-year? Will the positive sentiments continue well into the second half of the year?
