New launches have pushed private home sales ahead, with effects felt in both the new home and resale home segments.
Developers sold 1,054 private homes in March, more than double the 455 units sold in February.
Private home sales more than doubled in March
There were 10 new launches in March alone, the largest being from mega projects such as Treasure at Tampines and The Florence Residences.
Lap Pool, The Florence Residences Condo.
These 2 launches accounted for more than one-third of the total new private home sales last month. The sudden surge in the number of units entering the market in March could have accounted for the rise in private home sales transactions.
Some analysts, however, are still concerned about the residual effect of last July’s cooling measures. Despite last month’s pickup in sales, the market sentiments have remained cautious.
The overall take-up rate was only 58.2%, which could indicate somewhat of an imbalance between supply and demand. A large number of new units hitting the market could mean tilting the scale towards the side of the buyer.
With fiercer competition, could private home prices eventually take a beating?
Developers differentiating themselves through pricing and concept
Should supply increase more quickly than demand, developers may have to price their launches more reasonably and come up with unique concepts to attract buyers. Buyers, on the other hand, may be tempted to adopt a wait-and-see approach as the number of new launches are expected to hit a new high this year.
Developers do however still have some time to sell their units before the five-year Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) deadline kicks in.
For the moment, buyers may be spoilt for choice, but these couple of years could see a tug-of-war of sorts between buyers and sellers or developers as the latter stick to their pricing schemes while the former choose to wait it out.
See more: 2 upcoming freehold private condominium launches at Bartley
