April sales of private homes again exceed launches

A total of 729 private new homes (excluding ECs) were sold in April, compared to a total of 654 units launched in the market during that month. This is the 12th consecutive month when sales have exceeded launches, says CBRE’s head of research Singapore and Southeast Asia, Desmond Sim.

There were two new launches in April, The Verandah Residences and Harbour View Gardens. These developments have sold more than 82% and 91% of their units respectively, says Lee Sze Teck, head of research at Hutton Asia. Judging from the sales momentum, an average take-up rate of 70% appears to be the norm, and Lee expects an average of 800 to 1,500 units to be launched for sale per month for the rest of 2018.

Despite the strong take-up, total developer sales y-o-y were down 53%, from 1,567 units sold in April 2017. This is because developers released 1,616 units for sale a year ago, says Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at Colliers International. “We forecast new home sales could rise by 19% y-o-y to 12,600 units (excluding ECs) from the 10,566 units in 2017, due to more project launches from government land sales and collective sales,” she says.