SINGAPORE - The resale condo market reached a two-year high in October with 1,509 units changing hands the same month, according to flash figures from real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday (Nov 10).
It trumped the 1,311 transactions recorded in August, which was the highest monthly resale volume since May 2018.
October's sales figure represented a 21.6 per cent jump from the 1,241 non-landed private units resold in September.
The volume of resold units transacted last month was also 72.9 per cent higher than in October last year.
According to SRX data, overall prices of resale condo rose by 0.8 per cent from September to October, with month-on-month price growth across all three regions.
The core central region (CCR) rose by 0.5 per cent, rest of central region (RCR) by 1 per cent and outside central region (OCR) by 0.8 per cent.
Ms Wong Siew Ying, PropNex head of research and content, said that transactions of resale units last month were driven mainly by sales of mass market homes, which accounted for 58 per cent of the total volume.
Brisk sales in the private condo resale market seems to be broadly in line with the private new home sales market and the Housing Board resale segment, reflecting a "healthy underlying demand for homes", she noted.
"Sales have been relatively brisk in recent months as buyers enter the market, sensing that the worst may be over and taking confidence from the gradually recovering economy.
"Bargain hunters would also be on the prowl, searching the resale market for good value buys amid the economic downturn," she added.
The highest transacted price in October was for a resale unit at Wallich Residence in Tanjong Pagar, which was sold for $62 million.
The super penthouse in Singapore’s tallest building was previously owned by British billionaire inventor James Dyson, who purchased the unit a year ago for a reported $73.8 million.
The highest transacted price in the RCR was $9.1 million for a unit in Reflections at Keppel Bay in Harbourfront while a unit in Costa Del Sol, off Upper East Coast Road, resold for $2.9 million, the highest price in OCR.
Looking ahead, ERA Realty research and consultancy head Nicholas Mak said the recovery seen in the resale condo market in the past three months is "just the beginning".
He noted that Democrat Joe Biden's win in the recent United States presidential election would likely benefit a trade-dependent country like Singapore and aid in economic recovery.
This, in turn, would likely have a positive impact on the real estate market.
"Furthermore, the recent advances by pharmaceutical companies in the development of Covid-19 vaccines could also gradually improve investment sentiments, which would spill over to the real estate market," he added.
