New private home sales lifted by flurry of launches before Hungry Ghost month, low interest rates

SINGAPORE – The front-loading of five new private residential launches ahead of the Hungry Ghost Festival, lower mortgage rates and Singapore’s better full-year prospects sent new private home sales rocketing in August.

ERA Singapore chief executive Marcus Chu cited a strong pipeline of new launches in underserved areas in recent years, alongside moderating interest rates.

Robust new home sales in the first two months of the third quarter could result in unsold uncompleted stock dropping below 18,000 units, down from 18,498 units in the previous quarter, and 19,405 units in the fourth quarter of 2024, said Mr Wong Xian Yang, Cushman & Wakefield’s research head for Singapore and South-east Asia.

In August, new private home sales, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), surged to 2,142 units – the highest monthly figure for 2025 to date and since November 2024, when 2,560 units were sold. This compared with 940 units in July, and a mere 211 units a year ago.

This came as developers, ahead of the Hungry Ghost month, which is deemed by some as an inauspicious period to buy property, launched 2,496 new units in August, up 49 per cent from 1,675 units in July.

These include two new projects in the suburbs – the 941-unit Springleaf Residence in Upper Thomson and the 376-unit Canberra Crescent Residences in Sembawang – along with the 524-unit River Green in River Valley, and two city-fringe projects – the 596-unit Promenade Peak in Zion Road and 34-unit boutique project Artisan 8 in Sin Ming Road.

Including ECs, new private home sales jumped to 2,338 units in August from 1,311 the previous month.

Otto Place EC, which was launched in July, topped new EC transactions in August with 191 units sold at a median price of $1,760 per sq ft (psf) when sales booking opened to more second-timer buyers. But overall, the number of new EC units sold slipped 47 per cent to 196 from 371 sold in July.

Mr Leonard Tay, research head at Knight Frank Singapore, noted that the recent upward revision of seller’s stamp duty rates and the extension of the holding period to a fourth year did not hinder home buyers.

“Local buyers were buying largely for their own occupation and for lease to foreign professionals working in Singapore, as the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for foreign buyers continues to deter investment demand from this group,” he said.

Interest rates are expected to drop further in the coming months. As mortgage loans become more affordable, buyers who have been on the sidelines may be encouraged to make a purchase.

The suburban submarket outperformed the other two submarkets with 1,153 new homes, excluding ECs, sold in August, up from just 70 in July. Analysts cited Springleaf Residence moving 94 per cent of its units in August at a median price of $2,166 psf, and Canberra Crescent Residences chalking up 211 sales, or 56 per cent of its total number of units.

New home sales in the prime district rose to 513 units in August – a four-year high after 546 units were moved in March 2021 – up from 357 units in July.

PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Ying attributed the recovery to the launch of attractive, well-located projects, and healthy demand from local buyers as the 60 per cent ABSD on foreign buyers continues to dampen demand from this group.

River Green was the top-selling prime-district condo in 2025 with 451, or 86 per cent, of its units transacted at a median price of $3,111 psf, surpassing the 59 per cent sold at the 301-unit Upperhouse at Orchard Boulevard at a median price of $3,353 psf.

“By shrinking unit sizes, (River Green developer) Wingtai Holdings was able to keep the quantum palatable for most units, making it affordable for a larger proportion of buyers,” said CBRE’s head of research for South-east Asia Tricia Song.

Overall sales in September are expected to be muted as developers hold back new launches in the lunar seventh month, which runs from Aug 23 to Sept 21.

Still, more pent-up demand, especially from HDB upgraders, could be unleashed when several new projects are released later in 2025. In the pipeline are the 462-unit Penrith being built on the Margaret Drive Government Land Sales (GLS) site. This area has not seen a new launch since Margaret Ville was launched in May 2018, Ms Song said.

Other keenly watched launches include the 666-unit Skye at Holland near Holland Village and the 399-unit Faber Residence, a suburban project in Clementi. The 706-unit Zyon Grand, to be located on another GLS site near Promenade Peak, could ride on the success of the latter, Ms Song added.