SINGAPORE - Demand for new private homes continued on its upward trajectory for the third consecutive month, as developers sold 977 units in February, more than 150 per cent higher than the 382 units sold in January.

Sales for the month was also around three times that of 303 units sold in February last year.

The strong showing came despite the fifteen-day Chinese New Year period partly falling during February.

Sales last month were also much higher compared with the 367 units sold in December.

The sales would have taken place before Friday's surprise announcement of tweaks in property cooling measures. The announcements included paring the seller's stamp duty by shorterning the holding period to three years from four years, and by lowering the rate by four percentage points for each tier. There were also tweaks made to the total debt servicing ratio framework.

February's strong showing comes on the back of the launch of more units. There were 550 units launched in February, compared with just 108 in January. One of these new launches was Clement Canopy, which opened for sales in February.

It was the best-selling project in February, moving 207 units at a median price of $1,343 per square foot.