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Continued Exceptional March Performance That Contributed To 100% Growth In Private Property Compared To 1Q2011

Latest Property Real Estate News - Published on 16/04/2012

The private property market transacted 3,032 units in March, a marginal 3.3% decrease from February’s exceptional high number of 3,138 units sold. Out of the total number of units sold, Executive Condominium (EC) units comprised 639 units, or 21%. The total 8,247 units sold in the first quarter 2012 had almost doubled last year’s 4,309 units sold Y-o-Y compared to 2011.

“It is clearly the HDB upgraders who are entering the private property market; these are genuine buyers with mid to long-term perspectives sustaining the market in the first quarter of 2012. This trend of buying is not dampened by the latest round of cooling measures on 8 December, although it had effectively stamped out short-term speculation in the private property resale market. The month of March saw some big project launches like Ripple Bay and Palm Isles, while The Minton as well as the 522 EC units sold at Twin Waterfalls and The Tampines Trilliant, illustrated a strong and sustained interest in private property by HDB upgraders. These had contributed and certainly helped boost the March sales figure,” remarked Mr Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty

Sustained Demand From HDB Upgraders

Mr Ismail pointed out that the strong response in March (including ECs) out of 3,032 units sold, 2,464 units or 81% of the sales were concluded in the Outside Central Region (OCR) and 65% were sold below the $1,200psf mark. Consumers are still interested in the mass market properties, but developers may face resistance if the price per square foot is too high, especially in the OCR.

However, investors are remaining more cautious about the mid- and high-end markets. Excluding ECs, the number of units sold in the mid-range market, or $1,200 to $2,499psf range, was 1,036, or 43.3% of the total. The high-end market, with units costing $2,500psf or more, recorded 19 units, or 0.8%. The mid-end market saw a returning investor confidence while the high-end property market remained lackluster since the implementation of ABSD.

April Sales Expected To Taper

As February and March were exceptional months for robust activities in the private property market, Mr Ismail expects April’s sales to slowdown with over 1,800 units sold. Developers were successful in catching the buying trends in the past 2 months, however as there are fewer new launches in the month of April, it is expected that the sale of private properties to taper but still perform moderately well.