THE latest round of cooling measures in January has apparently failed to deter home buyers, who were out in force last month.

They picked up 2,013 new private homes from developers in the first month of 2013, a 43 per cent jump over December's number and the highest level of new home sales in four months, according to figures released today by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

January's sales also exceeded the 1,799 homes launched by developers during the month, the URA said. Both sales and launch figures exclude executive condominiums.

Including executive condominiums, which are a public-private hybrid housing type, developers sold 2,269 homes last month.