If a setback sets the stage for a comeback, then the high-end home market in Singapore has arguably delivered in spades. The Core Central Region (CCR) – often seen as a proxy for luxury private residential properties – witnessed a dramatic recovery in 2025, following three consecutive years of weaker new home sales.

Overall, developers sold some 1,915 new homes in the CCR in 2025, marking the highest tally in four years, and far exceeding the 378 CCR new private homes transacted in the entire 2024, according to figures from the URA. The remarkable sales performance achieved in 2025 was underpinned by a steady stream of attractive CCR launches, competitive pricing, and a recovery in buyer sentiment amid the significant decline in interest rates.

Beyond the sales momentum carried over from 2025, several demand drivers are also expected to play a decisive role in shaping CCR sales in 2026. Chief among them is the narrowing price gap between non-landed new private homes in the CCR and that of the Rest of Central Region (RCR), which is reshaping buyer perceptions of relative value and drawing greater interest towards prime districts.

Read also: Freehold terrace at Sea Breeze Road for sale at $5.2 mil

Narrowing price gap reshapes value perceptions

Based on caveats lodged, the median transacted unit price gap between new non-landed private homes in the CCR ($3,074 psf) and the RCR ($2,787 psf) stood at 10% in 2025 – the narrowest on record since 1995 (see Chart 1). The corresponding price gap in 2024 was 21%. At its peak, the CCR-RCR median unit price gap was around 80% in 2006.

Typically, CCR properties are thought to command a clear premium, owing to its prime location in the city, luxury positioning, convenience and prestige. However, as home prices climbed in the RCR, the once-wide CCR-RCR price differential has been compressed. This convergence has perhaps recalibrated buyer psychology, nudging prospective buyers to reassess the value proposition, and whether it makes sense to “trade up” to a CCR property in view of the smaller price gap.

RCR aside, in fact, there is a possibility that the price gap between homes in the CCR and Outside Central Region (OCR) may also narrow in 2026, given the firm land prices achieved at several OCR government land sale sites in 2025 – which had tipped over $1,300 psf per plot ratio.

CCR homes becoming more accessible

In terms of price quantum, the gap between new units in the CCR and the RCR has also shrunk. Considering new non-landed private homes spanning 700 to 1,000 sq ft, the difference in the average transacted price was $212,703 in 2025 – down by about 63% from the $567,767 price difference in 2020 (see Table 1).

The narrowing quantum gap could also have made CCR homes feel more accessible, thereby sharpening buyer interest. To this end, prospective buyers may be able to enter the prime CCR market without an overly significant increase in purchase price outlay from before.

Looking at some of the new launches in the CCR and the RCR in the second half of 2025, it is noted that a large proportion of units sold were priced at below $2.5 million for the most part (see Table 2). In particular, 76% of the transactions at River Green in the CCR were done at under $2.5 million, partly driven by competitive pricing and strong demand for smaller, efficiently designed units. Meanwhile, nearly 60% of the units sold at Skye at Holland and UpperHouse at Orchard Boulevard were priced at below $2.5 million, based on caveats lodged.

Read also: PropNex proposes policy shifts to support housing market ahead of Singapore Budget 2026

On the whole, PropNex observes that many developers kept the quantum play firmly in focus for new project launches in 2025, structuring prices to stay within palatable entry levels for buyers – typically ranging from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. This pricing strategy is expected to persist into 2026 in the primary market, as the sub-$2.5 million price points remain appealing and are seen to be relatively attainable among prospective buyers.

CCR prices playing catch-up

To be sure, private home prices in the CCR have risen over the years, but the pace of increase lagged that of the other two submarkets. According to the URA property price index flash estimates, non-landed private home prices in the CCR rose by 20.7% in 4Q2025 from 1Q2020, when Covid-19 hit. In contrast, prices in the RCR jumped by 48.8%, while that of the OCR increased by 49.9% over the same period.

The slower pace of price growth in the CCR was partly due to the tighter additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD). In the last few years, the ABSD rates were raised twice – in December 2021 and April 2023 – to curb private residential property investment demand. Of note, the doubling of the ABSD rate for foreign buyers from 30% to 60% in April 2023 has been especially hard-hitting on the CCR, which tends to see more foreign investment interest compared with the RCR and OCR.

Local market drives CCR demand

In 2025, foreign buyers (non-permanent residents) accounted for 3.1% of the new non-landed private homes sold in the CCR (see Chart 2) – the lowest proportion on record since 1995, according to caveats lodged. It is also markedly lower than the 14.5% proportion in 2022 prior to the ABSD hike in April 2023, and the 32.8% proportion in 2011 when the ABSD was first introduced (in December 2011).

Meanwhile, the percentage of Singaporean buyers of new non-landed CCR private homes shot up to a record high at 82.3% in 2025 (see Chart 2). That local buyers accounted for the bulk of CCR home sales is a positive trend and could contribute to greater market stability, as they tend to take a long-term view of their property purchase.

Of the new non-landed CCR private homes purchased by Singaporean buyers in 2025, about 64% were priced at below $2.5 million, around 33% in the range of $2.5 million to less than $5 million, and some 3% of the deals were done at $5 million or higher, as per URA Realis caveat data. As local buyers are expected to anchor CCR demand again in 2026, developers aiming for robust launch performance will likely continue to calibrate price quantum and unit mix carefully.

Read also: Pine Residences: The art of living in prime District 9

Prospects still bright in 2026

The blockbuster CCR sales in 2025 rode on a cluster of sizeable new launches in July, August and October, which provided an influx of choices in a market that was fairly starved of new prime projects. According to the URA, there were 630 and 680 new CCR private homes launched for sale in 2023 and 2024, respectively. In contrast, an estimated 2,618 CCR new units were placed for sale in the first 11 months of 2025.

For 2026, PropNex estimates that the new launch pipeline in the CCR could remain ample, with around 2,500 units from 10 projects potentially to be launched. Among them are Newport Residences in Anson Road in the CBD, River Modern in River Valley Green, as well as projects at Dunearn Road (first private condo launch in Bukit Timah Turf City) and Holland Link.

While the strong take-up in 2025 may raise concerns about demand being front-loaded, PropNex expects buying interest in the CCR in 2026 to likely remain intact, especially for projects in sought-after areas and near to an MRT station and/or amenities.

Some demand drivers will include low interest rates, disciplined pricing, the perceived value of CCR homes amid tight price differential, and a potentially broader HDB upgrader base. Around 13,500 new flats will reach their five-year minimum occupation period in 2026 – up substantially from 8,000 units in 2025. This, coupled with the still-healthy HDB resale prices, can help to underpin private home sales, including in the CCR.

Taken together, PropNex believes that the CCR market has not only weathered its setback, but has probably also emerged more resilient – placing it in a good position to sustain the sales momentum through 2026.