Project launches spur home sales in January

Last month’s sales were still down YoY.

Private home sales more than doubled to 281 units last month from the 14-year low of 135 sales in December, boosted by the trio of condo projects launched, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed.

Despite the rebound, CBRE Head of Research Tricia Song noted that last month’s sales were still down 29% when compared to the 394 units transacted in January 2023 as the overall housing demand remains subdued.

She said the three projects launched last month booked take-up rates below the typical rates in the past years, with the top-selling project for the month, Lumina Grand EC project, selling 53% of its units.

The second best-selling, Hillhaven at Hillview, posted a 19% take-up rate while the Arcady at Boon Keng had 27% sales.

“This is indicative of the current tentative buying sentiment where buyers have turned more selective amid a myriad of new launch options, buyer fatigue and increasing resistance to high price points,” Song said.

Leonard Tay, research head at Knight Frank, said last month’s sales data also marked the quietest January since 2009 with the overall demand in the private residential market expected to remain “conservative” in early 2024.

URA data showed the latest January home sales data were led by the Outside Central Region with 144 new units sold, followed by the Rest of Central Region (112 units) and the Core Central Region (25 sales).

Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee, sees stable housing demand for ECs moving forward, considering the limited supply in the segment and the affordability option this type of housing offers.

For Song, she expects developers’ sales to remain subdued in February due to the Lunar New Year seasonal lull, before rebounding in March which will be hosting a healthy pipeline of new launches.

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