Private residential units sold by developers in December 2018

SINGAPORE

Slower sales, low-key launches
As expected, residential market activity slowed in December 2018 due to the year-end holiday and festive season. During the month, developers sold 602 private residential units, about half that of November but 39.7 per cent higher y-o-y.

Only 101 new private homes were launched in December, a 92.5 per cent drop from the previous month and a 56.3 per cent fall y-o-y. This is the lowest number of new private homes launched since September 2017. No new project was launched in December 2018.

For the whole of 2018, developers launched an estimated 8,773 private residential units and sold an estimated 9,264 units. In 2017, 6,020 new private homes were launched while take-up registered 10,566 units.

Top sales performance from city fringe and suburban projects

Source: URA

Executive Condominium (EC) supply dries up
Only three new EC units were sold in December 2018, from among the few left-over units in new EC projects. An EC in Rivercove Residences was sold for $964 psf while two units in Northwave were sold at a median price of $908 psf. The year as a whole saw 628 new ECs launched and 1,137 units taken up. The supply and demand imbalance resulted in the median prices of new ECs shooting up from $793 psf in 4Q17 to $989 psf in 4Q18, a 24.7 per cent increase.

Mr Ong Teck Hui, Senior Director of Research & Consultancy at JLL commented:
“Some 8,773 private residential units were launched in 2018, about 46 per cent more than in 2017. About 5,415 units were launched in 2H18, 61 per cent higher than in 1H18. The increased momentum of launches is partly due to an expectation of a large launch supply hitting the market in 2019, which led some developers to launch their projects and secure sales before the year ended. We can expect the launch momentum to carry-over into 2019 when 10,000 to 12,000 new private homes could be launched.

In 2H18, an estimated 5,317 new private homes were taken up, 35 per cent higher than the 3,947 units sold in 1H18. The strong take-up in 2H18 is partly due to the sudden launch of Riverfront Residences, Stirling Residences and Park Colonial on 5 July 2018 and the sale of some 1,000 units, as buyers rushed to beat the cooling measures which commenced on 6 July. Notwithstanding the surge of buying on 5 July, the 2H18 sales do point towards an increased sales momentum during that period. A follow through of this momentum could result in new private home sales of around 9,000 to 10,000 units in 2019, barring adverse events that could impact on sentiments negatively.

According to URA Realis data as at 3Q18, of the number of completed and uncompleted private residential units unsold, 24 per cent are in Core Central Region (CCR), 45 per cent in Rest of Central Region (RCR) and 31 per cent in Outside Central Region (OCR). In 2018, of the total new sales take-up, about 6 per cent is attributable to CCR, 48 per cent to RCR and 46 per cent to OCR. It appears that future supply in CCR will be strong relative to past take-up while demand from mainly investor buyers would be hamstrung by the ABSD, so CCR could be under greater pressure. The proportion of future supply for RCR and OCR appears more balanced, so perhaps these two market segments could be less challenging especially with greater demand support from buyers who are owner-occupiers or upgraders.”

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