What's the secret behind extremely strong home sales in March?

Policymakers played a key role.

Property developers racked up strong sales in March after government officials quashed rumours that cooling measures will be eased soon.

“There is significant pent-up demand in the private home market which surfaces when buyers perceive attractive investment opportunities. Over the last few years, many buyers have retreated to the side-lines waiting for prices to fall drastically and the cooling measures to be removed, both of which did not occur,” Ong Teck Hui, National Director, Research & Consultancy at JLL.

Ong noted that after officials reiterated that the measures would remain for a while, some buyers may have been prompted some buyers to be more decisive in going ahead with their purchases. 

“Coupled with new launch opportunities provided by Cairnhill Nine and The Wisteria, we saw many buyers drawn to these projects. The improved demand in the private home market was not confined to these two new launches as a number of previously launched projects also saw improvement in their sales in March, compared to previous months,” he said. 

Desmond Sim, Head of CBRE Research for Singapore & South East Asia, noted that the expectation that the government would not lift measures in the near future probably nudged buyers sitting on the fence to commit to a purchase. 

“That, together with “right-pricing”, resulted in quarter one sales to register 1,470. “Right pricing” is the pricing of developments in line with market perceptions. ECs, both newly-launched and existing projects, also saw similar healthy numbers. These numbers reinforce the point that there is underlying demand to support the residential market,” he said.