The post-festive Christmas lethargy and the prospect of an earlier Chinese New Year hit home sales in January.
Developers sold 433 homes in the month, down 17.8 per cent on the 527 moved in January last year, and 28 per cent below December's tally of 602 sales.
January is typically a slow month, given the many holidays around this time of the year. Sales may also be feeling the lingering effects of the July 6 cooling measures.
Cushman & Wakefield's senior research director Christine Li said yesterday: "Buyers are just taking their time to shop around for the best options. The urgency to secure their choice units is no longer there."
"Although there is a large pipeline of launches, current market sentiment is stronger compared to the post TDSR-period, when there was a lot of uncertainty," she added, referring to the total debt servicing ratio.
Developers released 498 private homes in January, well up on the 101 in December and about 97 per cent above the 253 launched in January last year, Urban Redevelopment Authority data showed yesterday.
There were no new launches in the city fringes or suburbs but three in the prime district - Fourth Avenue Residences in Bukit Timah, Fyve Derbyshire in Derbyshire Road and RV Altitude in River Valley Road.
"That reflects developers' confidence in launching units in a segment where buyers tend to be more price-sensitive," said Mr Ong Teck Hui, senior director of research & consultancy at JLL.
The three projects accounted for 24 per cent of January sales.
Huttons Asia's research head Lee Sze Teck noted: "The last time sales in the (prime district) accounted for more than 20 per cent of monthly sales was in March 2016."
More than 4,000 new luxury homes could be launch-ready this year, added OrangeTee & Tie's head of research and consultancy Christine Sun.
"The increased number of luxury homes sold indicates that buyers are generally still upbeat about the market, given that household incomes rose across the board last year and our GDP is still positive," she said.
Older launches continue to find favour with buyers.
Affinity At Serangoon sold 54 units in January at a median price of $1,496 per sq ft (psf).
The sales momentum has continued to build this month, with the announcement of the first phase of the Cross Island MRT line, said ERA Realty's key executive officer Eugene Lim.
The mass market project is near the proposed Serangoon North MRT station.
January's top sellers included Fourth Avenue Residences, with 74 units moved at a median price of $2,412 psf, and Parc Esta, where 32 homes sold at a median price of $1,745 psf.
Stirling Residences was also popular, with 22 transactions at a median price of $1,761 psf, while Parc Botannia recorded 21 sales at a median price of $1,384 psf.
But the executive condominium (EC) market saw markedly less action due to the low number of new units for sale and the lack of new launches since April last year.
ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak noted that only one EC unit sold in January, adding: "The total inventory of unsold EC units dropped to a record low of just five units as of January this year.
"There was only one EC project launched in 2018, the 628-unit Rivercove Residences. The supply and demand imbalance will continue to put upward pressure on prices.
"The sales of new ECs will only increase when the next project, located along Sumang Walk, is launched, which is expected to be in the second quarter of 2019."
