News release

Private residential units sold by developers in January 2023

Developers and buyers returned to the market in January 2023

February 15, 2023

Chia Siew Chuin

+65 9695 5776

Andrew Peck

+65 9823 7917

SINGAPORE, 15 February 2023 - On 15 February 2023, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the data on developer sales for the month of January 2023.

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:

After sitting out the market and generally halting new project launches with just 45 units released last December, developers returned with launches (excluding executive condominiums or ECs) rebounding to 410 units in January. This is the highest level in four months since the 913 units launched last September, during which new loan curbs were imposed amid a deteriorating economic backdrop and rising mortgage rates. On a y-o-y basis, developers’ launches were also up 130.3% from the 178 units released in January 2022, when the market was reeling from new market cooling measures implemented in December 2021.

While developers have been gearing up for a new line-up of project releases in 2023, the 268-unit Sceneca Residence located in the Outside Central Region (OCR) was the first and the only fresh project launch in January. Developers with plans for new project launches earlier in the year have mainly timed them after the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations to avoid the potential CNY lull and to garner more market interest for their projects while monitoring the market.

Homebuyers also re-entered the primary market in January after having assessed new project options available as well as the potential impact from the cooling measures, higher costs, and a weaker economic outlook. Developers managed to sell a total of 391 private residential units (excluding ECs) in January, up 130% from the 170 units sold last December. January’s tally was also the highest since September 2022 when 987 units were sold before the new loan controls were imposed. The uptick in new home sales in January is encouraging despite limited fresh project launches, the seasonal CNY lull and affordability concerns. The sole fresh project launch of Sceneca Residence contributed 157 units or 40.2% of the total new home sales (excluding ECs) in January. This is indicative of the underlying strength of the private residential market and projects with strong selling points and locational advantage remain popular with genuine homebuyers.

By market segment, the launch of Sceneca Residence drove sales in the OCR in January, which made up 47.3% of all private new home sales (excluding ECs). There was also sustained interest in projects in the Core Central Region (CCR), which constituted 40.4% of all new sales. The interest stems from the narrowing price gap relative to projects in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), where median unit prices increased by a faster 23.5% from 2020 to 2022 compared to 12.5% correspondingly in the CCR. The top sellers in the CCR in January were previously launched projects – Leedon Green, Klimt Carinhill, One Holland Village Residences, Haus on Handy and Perfect Ten.

Notably although January’s sales data shows a fairly steady primary home sales market relative to the previous three months, total resale transactions of private homes continued to fall, declining by 30.2% from 755 units last December to 527 units in January. Higher borrowing costs, the recent market curbs, and owners’ concerns over prospects of finding replacement homes extended the price mismatch impasse between buyers and sellers, which continued to weigh on resale transaction volume.

Outlook

Pent-up demand from potential buyers who sat out of the market due to limited options available in 2022 are expected to return to pick up units from an increased line-up of project launches this year.

Private new home sales are expected to regain momentum on the back of several new project launches post-CNY in 1Q23, e.g., Terra Hill, The Botany @ Dairy Farm, Blossoms by the Park, Gems Ville, Lentor Hill Residences and The Continuum.

The higher marginal Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD) for higher-value residential properties that will take effect from today (15 February) is unlikely to hurt homebuying demand for mid- and high-end properties, although buyers in the mass-market segment will be more price sensitive. Some of them may need more time to re-evaluate financing arrangements while others could monitor the market before making commitments.

On a brighter note, the anticipated return of Chinese buyers, particularly to the high-end/luxury segment of the residential market, will add to overall sales numbers. Barring any adverse turn of events, we project 7,500 to 9,000 private (excluding ECs) new home sales in 2023.

Appendix

One project was freshly launched in January – Sceneca Residence. The previously launched One Pearl Bank released its final 70 units for sales during the month. Collectively, these two projects accounted for 82.4% of the total units launched in the month.

Table A – New Launches
Project Total
(units)
Launched
(units)
Sold (units) Median price
(psf)
Sceneca Residence 268 268 157 $2,083

Source: URA

The top selling projects during the month are listed in Table B below. Sceneca Residence was the top-selling project in January 2023, transacting 157 units at a median price of SGD 2,083 psf. Buyers were attracted to the project’s direct access to Tanah Merah MRT station, as well as its integrated retail component.

Table B - Top Selling Projects
Project Sub-market Sold (units) Median price ($ psf)
Sceneca Residence OCR 157 $2,083
Leedon Green CCR 21 $2,957
Klimt Cairnhill CCR 17 $3,784
One Holland Village Residences CCR 16 $2,791
Riviere RCR 13 $3,087

Source: URA


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