New private home sales fell nearly 24 per cent last month after hitting a six-month high in July, as developers pared new launches and some buyers held off due to the Hungry Ghost month and Covid-19 phase two (heightened alert) restrictions.
But overall, new home sales remained relatively strong despite the month-on-month drop to 1,215 units last month from 1,591 in July.
Last month's take-up was still above the seven-month average of 1,172 units between January and July, noted Mr Wong Xian Yang, head of research, Singapore, at Cushman & Wakefield.
Compared with last year, sales were just 3.4 per cent shy of the 1,258 units moved in August 2020.
"Instead of slowing down during the typically quiet Hungry Ghost month, new private home sales have been robust during both August this year and last year," said Mr Wong.
Sales volumes that exceed 1,000 units a month should be seen as robust, given that developers have sold fewer than 12,000 units annually in the past seven years, ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said.
"Over the past seven years, developers sold an average of 738 private housing units monthly, excluding EC units," he noted.
Including executive condominiums (ECs), new home sales fell 24.3 per cent to 1,322 units last month from 1,746 in July. Compared with a year ago, new home sales slipped 1 per cent, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data released yesterday.
Only 836 new homes were put on the market last month, down 24.3 per cent from 1,104 in July and a 47.2 per cent plunge from 1,582 a year ago.
Most of the units for sale last month were from new launches, The Watergardens at Canberra and Klimt Cairnhill, as well as existing projects - Fourth Avenue Residences and The Florence Residences. Together, these projects accounted for 77 per cent of total units launched.
The top seller was The Watergardens at Canberra, where nearly 60 per cent or 267 of its 448 units were sold at a median price of $1,469 per square foot (psf).
"Buyers were attracted to its competitive pricing, and close proximity to the Canberra MRT station and amenities like Sembawang Shopping Centre and Canberra Plaza," said Mr Ong Teck Hui, senior director of research & consultancy at JLL.
This was followed by Normanton Park with 131 units sold at a median of $1,828 psf. Other best-selling condos in the suburbs and city fringes included Midwood, OLA, Treasure at Tampines, Dairy Farm Residences, and Parc Clematis.
"Buyers felt more compelled to enter the market now due to anticipated rising prices of future project launches - fuelled by high bid prices at recent land tenders as well as increasing construction costs," said Mr Ismail Gafoor, chief executive of PropNex Realty.
The suburbs, or outside central region (OCR) accounted for 59 per cent of sales, or 720 transactions, due to demand for suburban condominiums from HDB upgraders, said Mr Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.
The highest per square foot price recorded in the suburbs went to a 66 sq m freehold non-landed new private home at The Lilium, which sold for $1.5 million or $2,139 psf.
In terms of price quantum, the most expensive mass-market home sold last month was a 201 sq m unit at Parc Clematis for $3.063 million, followed by a 159 sq m unit at the same project for $2.798 million, said OrangeTee & Tie's senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun.
City fringe projects made up 28.2 per cent of total sales last month. Around 75 per cent of the total developer sales last month were priced lower than $2,000 psf, based on caveats registered, Mr Wong said.
Developers are likely to step up new project launches after the seventh lunar month, analysts said. These include Bartley Vue and Jervois Mansion later this month.
