New home sales in December shrink amid holiday lull, as full-year tally for 2025 hits new high since 2021

SINGAPORE - Property developers sold 197 new homes in December 2025, a 39.4 per cent decline from the 325 homes sold in November, data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Jan 15 showed.

Amid the holiday lull in December, sales volumes were also down 3 per cent from the 203 units sold in the year-ago period.

For the whole of 2025, 10,821 new units (excluding executive condominiums) were sold, a 67.3 per cent increase year on year from the 6,469 units sold in 2024. This is also the highest annual new sales volume since 2021 with 13,027 transactions, said Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist of Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group.

“There were many large-scale project launches in attractive locations that appealed to many buyers. In addition, the global economy stabilised faster than expected, as the US tariff tensions did not worsen as anticipated,” she said.

“Singapore’s economic performance also exceeded expectations last year, further boosting buyer confidence and improved market sentiment.”

Ms Tricia Song, CBRE head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia, noted that in the second quarter, the unpredictability of US trade policies caused new sales to slump.

“Nevertheless, the significant fall in domestic interest rates… and pent-up demand alongside the attractive pipeline of new launches bolstered the market which saw a strong rebound in H2 2025.”

SRI head of research and data analytics Mohan Sandrasegeran said 11,482 residential units were launched last year – the highest volume since 2013, when developers launched 15,885 units.

The expansion of choices in the primary market may have played a role in moderating price growth, he noted. Based on URA flash estimates, private residential property prices rose 3.4 per cent in 2025, the smallest annual increase since 2020.

Ms Wong Shanting, director and head of research at Newmark Singapore, pointed out that the sole project launch in December 2025 was Pollen Collection II, a 99-year leasehold landed development with 186 units in Seletar Hills.

The project sold 17 units out of the 52 units launched that month.

Fewer units were launched in December than November’s 347. However, the number of units launched in December was more than double the 20 units made available for sale during the same month in 2024.

Of the 197 units sold in December 2025, 55.8 per cent or 110 units were from the Rest of Central Region. Another 34 per cent, or 67 units, came from the Outside Central Region and the remaining 10.2 per cent, or 20 units, came from the Core Central Region.

CBRE’s Song noted that the top-selling project in December was The Continuum, which moved 31 units at a median price of $2,498 psf.

Including executive condominiums (ECs), there were 234 units sold in December 2025 – 37.3 per cent lower than the 373 units sold in the year-ago period. The number of units sold last month was down 32.4 per cent from the 346 units sold in November.

PropNex’s head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said that in the EC segment, there were 37 new units sold in December, most of which were from Otto Place EC, which moved 28 units at a median price of $1,751 psf.

There were only 17 unsold new EC units on the market as at last December.

“With the launch of the 748-unit Coastal Cabana EC in Pasir Ris set for January, EC sales will see a big boost given the typically strong demand for such housing type among first-time home buyers and HDB upgraders,” said Wong.

Newport Residences, which is set to book sales later this month, is expected to be well-received, as there are not many freehold condominium launches in the city centre, with the last one being Sky Everton in 2019, she added.

Buyers can expect around 18 private residential and five EC launches in 2026, said ERA Singapore’s chief executive officer Marcus Chu.

“While this is fewer than 2025, which saw 24 private developments and two EC launches, demand is expected to remain robust,” he added.

Realion’s Sun added: “With many upcoming projects located in the suburbs, where prices tend to be lower than in the city fringe and prime areas, prices of new homes are expected to rise moderately, possibly by 2 to 4 per cent in 2026.”

Huttons Asia’s senior director of data analytics Lee Sze Teck said that, barring unforeseen circumstances, transaction volume is estimated to range between 8,000 and 10,000 units in 2026.

THE BUSINESS TIMES