Private residential units sold by developers in February 2024

SINGAPORE, 15 March 2024 – On 15 March 2024, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the data on developer sales for the month of February 2024.

A summary of the launches and sales is provided in the Appendix.

Ms. Chia Siew Chuin, Head of Residential Research, Research & Consultancy at JLL

谢岫君, 私宅市场研究部主管 (新加坡) commented:

Key Observations

In the absence of fresh project launches during the Chinese New Year (CNY) month, developers sold just 149 private home units (excluding executive condominiums or ECs) in February. This was 47.0% lower than the 281 units sold In January, when sales were mildly lifted by the new launches of Hillhaven and The Arcady at Boon Keng. Y-o-y, sales declined by 65.6%. 

Last month’s sales tally was the weakest February showing in 16 years since 2008, when 174 new units were sold amid the CNY lull and stock market volatility.

The slower sales were expected due to the hiatus during the CNY month and tentative buyer sentiment stemming from soft macroeconomic conditions, still-high financing costs, higher prices, and market cooling measures. Prospective buyers likely also held off for further information about the upcoming pipeline of new project launches and market conditions.

Nevertheless, primary market transaction volume should improve in March, due to new project launches during the month. They include the 267-unit Lentoria, which has sold about 19% of the units during the launch weekend, the 35-unit Ardor Residence and the 533-unit Lentor Mansion which will open for booking on 15 March. Launches are expected to gather momentum henceforth, potentially stimulating demand.

Project Launches and Sales

With developers prioritising sales from previously released projects over new project launches amid the CNY month, the number of units launched plunged by 89.2% m-o-m to 45 units. This marks the lowest February launch tally since the URA began providing monthly project launch and sales data in June 2007.

By location, developers sold 33 units from ongoing projects in the Core Central Region (CCR) in February, up from 25 units in January but lower than the 222 units sold a year ago.

In the Rest of Central Region (RCR), transaction levels fell by 48.2% m-o-m and 64.4% y-o-y to 58 units. Sales in the Outside Central Region (OCR) or suburbs also fell by 59.7% from the previous month but rose 20.8% y-o-y to 58 units in February.

Prices

The median unit price of non-landed new private homes (excluding EC) sold in the CCR in February fell by 3.0% m-o-m to $3,087 psf. The median unit prices in the RCR and OCR also dipped slightly by 0.5% m-o-m to $2,561 psf and 1.0% m-o-m to $2,059, respectively.

The fall in median unit prices in February may be attributed to lower unit pricing for home units with larger floor areas or less desirable attributes that were sold during the month.

In February 2024, a sizeable proportion of the new home sale transactions, or 47.3%, fell within the price range of $1.5 million to less than $2.5 million. Deals that were priced between $2.5 million to less than $4 million made up 36.5%, while 6.8% represented high-value transactions of $4 million or more. However, there were no sales of new homes priced $9 million and more.

The majority of local resident buyers bought units priced from $1.5 million to less than $4.0 million, whereas all transactions by foreign buyers involved properties worth at least $2.5 million.

In the CCR, half of the new sales involved properties priced from $2.0 million to less than $3.5 million. About 84.5% of the buyers in the RCR bought new homes worth $1.5 million to less than $4 million. Most or 58.6% of homebuyers in the OCR opted for less expensive properties of $1.5 million to less than $2.5 million. 

Table A – Proportion of All New Home Sales Based on Price Range and Residential Status in February 2024

Source: URA, JLL Research as of 15 March 2024

Appendix

With a lack of fresh project launches in February, the best-selling ongoing private residential projects were The Botany at Dairy Farm in the OCR, followed by Blossoms by the Park, Grand Dunman and Pinetree Hill in the RCR.

The top selling projects during the month are listed in Table B.

Table B - Top Selling Projects

Source: URA