In the absence of new project launches, developers sold 437 units in August

By Edgeprop Singapore

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

September 15, 2022 7:28 PM SGT

Mount Rosie Signature Collection was launched in August, and one terraced house was sold for $12.35 mil ($3,812 psf) [Picture: Fraxtor Capital]

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Sales of projects in the Core Central Region accounted for 50.3% of new home as price gap with Rest of Central Region narrowed to 14.9% last month

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - In the month of August, new home sales tumbled 47.6% m-o-m to 437 units. It was understandable given that it was the Lunar Seventh Month (Month of the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival) and developers traditionally defer their new project launches during the period.

This was the lowest monthly sales since May 2020 when 487 units were sold by developers during the Circuit Breaker when showrooms were closed then, says Tricia Song, CBRE head of research Southeast Asia. It’s also the lowest since Jun 2022, when 488 units were sold as buyers turned cautious given the backdrop of rising interest rates and heightened macroeconomic uncertainty, she adds.

On a y-o-y basis, it was a 64.1% drop in new home sales, as August 2021 was boosted by the launch of The Watergardens at Canberra in the Outside Central Region (OCR) and buoyant market sentiment.

The number of units launched fell by 66.7% m-o-m, to 134, and it’s the lowest number of units launched for sale since Sept 2017, says Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia senior director of research.

Source: URA, Huttons Research

The Core Central Region (CCR) saw 220 units sold while the Rest of Central Region (RCR) moved 127 units and the Outside Central Region (OCR) 90 units. It is the first time since Oct 2017 that sales in the CCR exceeded 50% of monthly sales, notes Huttons’ Lee. “Buyers are shifting their focus to the CCR as the median price psf between the CCR and RCR has narrowed to 14.9% in Aug 2022 compared to 41.6% in Jan 2022,” he says.

The average median pricing of new private residential units also increased 6.1% in August to $2,942 psf from $2,774 psf in the previous month, says Leonard Tay, head of research of Knight Frank Singapore.

In the absence of new launches in the OCR, the best-selling projects in the month of August were those in the CCR and RCR, notably Hyll on Holland, Riviere, Perfect Ten, The Hyde, Leedon Green, The Gazania, and One Pearl Bank, notes Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie senior vice president of research and analytics.

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Top 10 Selling Projects in August 2022 (including ECs and landed)

Project Name	Street Name	Tenure	Locality	Units Sold	Median Price ($psf) in the Month	% of Project Sold to date
HYLL ON HOLLAND	HOLLAND ROAD	Freehold	CCR	42	$2,674	69%
RIVIERE	JIAK KIM STREET	99 yrs	RCR	28	$2,862	76%
PERFECT TEN	BUKIT TIMAH ROAD	Freehold	CCR	27	$2,942	41%
LEEDON GREEN	LEEDON HEIGHTS	Freehold	CCR	20	$2,807	69%
THE HYDE	BALMORAL ROAD	Freehold	CCR	20	$3,002	86%
THE GAZANIA	HOW SUN DRIVE	Freehold	OCR	16	$2,222	79%
ONE PEARL BANK	PEARL BANK	99 yrs	RCR	16	$2,635	86%
THE AVENIR	RIVER VALLEY CLOSE	Freehold	CCR	15	$3,238	82%
KOPAR AT NEWTON	MAKEWAY AVENUE	99 yrs	CCR	13	$2,598	84%
THE LANDMARK	CHIN SWEE ROAD	99 yrs	RCR	13	$2,388	46%

Source: CBRE Research, URA

For private housing, August 2022 saw the launch of two landed housing developments: The Jardine Residences and Mount Rosie Signature Collection, says CBRE’s Song.

Located along Lorong Chuan, The Jardine Residences comprises six freehold terraced houses, of which none were sold in August. Meanwhile, boutique freehold luxury development, Mount Rosie Signature Collection saw one terraced house sold in the month for $12.35 mil ($3,812 psf), according to CBRE. Located near the top of Mount Rosie Road, the development comprises four terraced houses in front, with 2 bungalows at the rear end.

There were more purchases by foreigners in Aug, and their proportion shot up by 13.3%, the highest since March 2016, according to Huttons Research. Their presence was felt mainly in the CCR projects. Overall the level of purchases by foreigners in the first eight months of 2022 stood at 6.5%. This could stabilise to between 5% and 6% for 2022, estimates Huttons.

“The relaxation of the international border restrictions coupled with a revised framework from the government to attract top foreign talents across all industries, could have contributed to the higher number of new homes sold in the CCR when compared to the other regions during the month,” says Knight Frank’s Tay.

Proportion of purchases by foreign buyers - the highest since March 2016

Proportion of purchases by foreign buyers - EDGEPROP SINGAPORE

Source: URA, Huttons Research

The best performing project in the month was Hyll on Holland, which sold 42 units at a median price of $2,674 psf and RCR project, Riviere, which sold 28 units at a median price of $2,862 psf. 9 of the 10 top performing projects in August 2022 came from the RCR and CCR, a possible indication that homebuyers are seeing value in the CCR and RCR as the price gap of the 2 segments narrows against recent mass-market launches, which have crossed the $2,000 psf threshold.

The top projects with sales to foreigners in Aug are predominantly in the CCR.

Top 5 Projects with sales to foreigners in Aug 2022

Project Name	Region	District	Purchases by Foreigners
THE HYDE	CCR	10	8
HAUS ON HANDY	CCR	9	4
HYLL ON HOLLAND	CCR	10	4
MIDTOWN MODERN	CCR	7	4
PERFECT TEN	CCR	10	4
RIVIERE	RCR	3	4

Source: URA, Huttons Research as of 15 Sep 2022

10.6% of the transactions in Aug are priced below $1.5 million, 35.5% are between $1.5 million to $2 million and 53.9% above $2 million. The $2 million mark is going to be the norm as prices creep up and more inventory in the CCR gets sold.

Purchases by Residential Status and Price Range in Aug

	<$1.5 million	$1.5 to <$2 million	$2 to <$5 million	>$5 million	Total
Singaporeans	41	129	155	10	335
Permanent Residents	2	10	34	5	51
Foreigners	4	19	32	4	59
Companies	0	0	0	0	0
Total	47	158	221	19	445

Source: URA, Huttons Research as of 15 Sep 2022

The median price of new condominiums excluding executive condos (ECs) has been rising over the past few months, increasing by 37.1% from $1,928 psf in January to $2,644 psf in August 2022, says OrangeTee & Tie’s Sun.

“The price increase was mainly driven by the condominiums in the RCR, which saw median price surge by 24.1% over the past eight months from $1964 psf in January 2022 to $2,437 psf,” adds Sun. “This was followed by a 9.7% increase in OCR and a 0.8% uptick in CCR over the same period.”

Sales in September are estimated to be between 900 and 1,000 as major launches like the 158-unit Sky Eden@Bedok and 605-unit Lentor Modern are pushed out. Sky Eden@Bedok sold 118 units (close to 75%) of its units on Sept 7 at an average price of $2,100 psf.

A total of 118 units out of 158 (about 75%) at Sky Eden@Bedok were snapped up on Sept 7 at an average price of $2,100 psf (Photo: Frasers Property)

Lentor Modern, the only integrated mixed-use development in the Lentor precinct should see similar sales on its launch day on Sept 17. According to sources, the developer has collected over 1,700 cheques as expressions of interest over the past fortnight since previews began on Sept 2. Interest is expected to come from upgraders and first-time buyers,

More new launches are in the pipeline in October, with Gems Ville, K Suites, Mattar Residences and Sophia Regency. “These boutique projects will offer buyers and investors a variety across the island,” notes Huttons’ Lee.

The first executive condo (EC) in Tengah, the 639-unit Copen Grand, is likely to be launched in October as well. It should see healthy interest from buyers in the west region such as Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong East and Jurong West. The other EC to be launched in October is the 618-unit Tenet at Tampines Street 62.

Including the 4,222 new homes sold in 1H2022, preliminary new developer sales (excluding ECs) year-to-August now stand at 5,493 units, 40.8% below the 9,277 units sold over the same period last year.

Lentor Modern scale modern - EDGEPROP SINGAPORE

The 605-unit Lentor Modern, the only integrated mixed-use development in the Lentor precinct should see similarly healthhy sales on its launch day on Sept 17, with demand coming from first-time buyers and upgraders (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

CBRE Research maintains its 2022 new home sales forecast at 9,000 units, compared to 13,027 new home sales in 2021. Transaction volume is expected to moderate for the rest of the year as interest rates continue to rise and dampen buying sentiment, says Song.

Private residential property price index registered a 3.5% q-o-q increase in 2Q2022, after a marginal 0.7% increase in 1Q2022. Private home prices have increased by 4.2% in 1H2022, following 2021’s full year increase of 10.6%.

However, CBRE expects price growth momentum to moderate in 2H2022 in the face of rising interest rates and macroeconomic headwinds which should crimp affordability, especially for over-leveraged buyers. CBRE Research expects private home prices to increase by 5% for the full year 2022 in the event there is no global recession.

Lam Chern Woon, Edmund Tie head of research and consulting is expecting new home sales of about 10,000 units for 2022, with private residential price growth of 8% for the whole year.

Check out the latest listings near Lentor Modern, Sky Eden@Bedok, Mount Rosie, The Watergardens at Canberra, Hyll on Holland, Riviere, Perfect Ten, The Hyde, Leedon Green, The Gazania, One Pearl Bank, Copen Grand

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